The Seven Seraphim
by luckyrules321
Summary: A boy genius hacked into Foaly's system, and it's up to Artemis to try and stop him from destroying Haven. But things are a bit more complicated than they seem, and maybe Arty's the one in the wrong! A bunch o' pairins that I'm too lazy to write
1. Arty's College

Hello, y'all! It's Misiek here! (for those who don't know, that means 'teddy bear' in Polish) This is my first fanfic on this account, and I hope you enjoy it! I kinda suck at these beginning thingies, so I'll keep them short. Enjoy!

Artemis was frustrated. Not seriously frustrated, but relatively ticked considering the 15-year-old genius' range of emotions. And all, he thought, from this dreadful college.

He sat in the last seat of the last row in his college room, among fidgety young adults and a lecturing senior who believed that, despite Henry IV's suggestive paintings and murals in his castle, he was a very tame and practical man.

"Entirely untrue…" Artemis muttered to himself, "King Henry IV was most famous for his numerous romantic activities."

"Huh?" said the seedy teen sitting next to him, lifting his head up from the table. His blond hair was uncombed and his clothes were rumpled, giving the truthful impression that he had spent the night writing a few forgotten essays instead of sleeping.

Artemis sighed, staring at the pitiful boy. "This professor knows absolutely nothing about his subject! His opinions are unreasonable, his speeches are about irrelevant points, and he's even got the sexual activeness of King Henry totally wrong! He is possibly the worst professor I've had yet."

The teen blinked sleepily, looked from the professor to Artemis, then said, "The professor has a name, you know. And I'm pretty sure it's not 'he'."

Artemis groaned and glanced at the blond boy's binder. It said, 'Property of Mellan Carmen'. "Well, Mellan, you're just saying that to cover up the fact that you didn't understand a word I just said," replied Artemis.

Mellan looked shocked. "How did you-." He saw his overstuffed binder and the nametag on it. "Oh, yeah. Right. Well FWI, Mr. I'm So Sure Of Myself, I understood every word that you said. I just think that a man that suffered through eight precious years of the junk we're living through right now should earn some respect. Such as a student knowing Professor Johnson's name, perhaps? That's his name, by the way. Professor Johnson."

Artemis glared at Mellan, and opened his mouth to retort, when a sudden vibrating from his pocket made him jump several feet into the air. It was Holly's secret communicator. Artemis quickly stood, collected his belongings, and began exiting the stereotypical-looking college classroom. A few bored eyes turned to watch him go.

"Hey, where are you going?" Mellan asked, startled.

"I've got to take a very important phone call." Artemis answered, taking out a paper-thin black phone out of his suit pocket. He exited the classroom to find Butler standing guard by the large double doors.

"Artemis," he asked, barely turning to see who it was, "What is it?"

"Just a phone call from the fairies, old friend." With that remark, Artemis snapped open the thin phone and asked, "What is it, Holly?"

Artemis had the idea that making a fake phone out of his hands to use the communicator, at his age, was a bit suspicious. So he went to the nearest phone store and purchased the highest quality phone he could get. To anyone watching he was just one seriously rich kid buying an expensive cell phone. But as soon as he arrived home, he dissected the phone and inserted the communicator Holly gave him into it, carefully rearranging the phone's inner wires around it. With some small adjustments, the cell phone soon worked as a fairy communicator as well. Not Artemis' most ingenious idea, but it was satisfactory.

Holly's bell-like voice sounded in the cell phone, "Artemis, we have a problem."

"I realized that," said Artemis, "When you called me in the middle of the time I specifically told you _not_ to call me."

"Sorry, Artemis, but this case is much more important than a professor droning on about what medieval mud-people used as cement. And besides, didn't you say that college classes were way too easy for you, anyway?" The silence from the other end told her that she had hit Artemis spot on. "Well, here's the break you've been waiting for, Artemis."

"What's happening, Holly? Have the demons been causing trouble?"

"No, the demons are doing great. They've adapted to the idea of not running aboveground and murdering every human they see very well."

"Then what is it?" asked Artemis, curious.

"Someone's hacked into Foaly's system."

Artemis paused, taking in the news, then said, "How badly?"

"What do you mean, 'How badly', Fowl? Isn't it either your system's hacked into or it's not?"

Artemis sighed. "I mean, what are the effects? Is fairy world shut down, or is it just receiving some minor difficulties in messed-up internet sites?"

"Not even that, Artemis. Foaly's just having error reports popping up all over the place, each one more idiotic than the rest. He claims that someone hacked in and is now playing with his systems. That, topped with the fact that his horsie ladie's dumped him, he's more paranoid than ever."

"So what should I do about it, Holly?" asked Artemis, ticked. He didn't have time for some feeble belief of a possible hacker.

"Come down and fix it."

"I'm a prodigy, Holly, not a repair man."

"Please, Artemis," Holly begged, "Foaly says he's not going to do any more work until he's sure that there is no hacker. He claims that anyone smart enough to get into the system could just as easily crash it. You're the only one smarter than Foaly, so only you can solve this case."

"What about Minerva?"

"You're better at computers than her, Artemis, and you know it."

Artemis thought. It wasn't always that Holly begged, and Foaly could be right. He could have a legitimate hacker that will destroy the fairy world's system. Artemis bit his lip.

"Alright, Holly, I'll do it. But I really am becoming too soft. "

"That's my mud boy," said Holly, and Artemis imagined her sly grin.

"My parents, and my siblings, are gone for the weekend. A small vacation, I think my mother called it. Plan to arrive on one of those days."

Then I'll pick you up tomorrow at Fowl Manor, 4 p.m. sharp. See you there." And before Artemis could say anything more about the manner, she was gone.

Artemis sighed for what seemed like the 50th time and shut the communicator.

"What's up, Artemis?" Butler rumbled.

"Pack your stuff and get the car ready," said Artemis, a glint in his eye, "We're headed home."

Well, that's it for this chapter! Believe me when I say it's the most boring chapter of the whole series that I'm making… But please R&R! I promise the next chapter will be less boring! I'M SERIOUS!!!!... Sorry about that. Just review. Oh, and by the way, remember the college student Artemis was talking to. He may come to play in future chapters...


	2. Holly's Guilt

Hey! I'm back! I hope that the next chapter will be more interesting than the first. Ummmmmm… Yeah. This next chapter is a bit more action-y. Well, I kinda suck at these beginnings, so I'll get on with the story. Enjoy!

Holly felt terrible. Not because of the fact that she had given up the detective career and returning to the LEP, that was great. With a neutrino at her side and a new set of advanced technology on her back, she felt right at home. It wasn't particularly her pounding head either, a result of a bad night's sleep the night before. It was because she had lied. And, on top of that, she had lied to one of her greatest friends, Artemis Fowl.

"Foaly," she asked the centaur for the fiftieth time, "Is this really necessary? I mean, after all Artemis has done for us, how could we just go and not trust him like this?"

"Oh, come on Holly," snorted the centaur, newly made tin hat askew, "You know for a fact that Artemis is suspect number one on this case. I'd bet my whole salary that he was the one who hacked into my system!"

Holly sighed. It still didn't seem right. Especially when, instead of giving Artemis the privacy he desired and coming at four tomorrow like Holly suggested, Holly was instead going to Fowl Manor to spy on Artemis for the whole day.

"Foaly, I'm disappointed," said Holly, speaking the truth to the centaur, "I thought we got past the fairies-are-enemies-with-Artemis stage, or at least I thought you had. You've really made me think about who you truly are."

Foaly grinned, "Hey, I trust my computers more than anything. And when my computers are in trouble, I'll do almost anything to save them." Foaly waited until he turned his back to Holly before showing his guilt in his face. Need he seem this selfish?

"Besides, we're just keeping a slightly closer eye on him than usual, that's all," Foaly added, trying to make things a bit better sounding.

"Whatever, Foaly," sighed Holly, "It's still dishonest." And with that, she left to get ready for spying at Fowl Manor.

Well, that's it. This chapter was super short. But since I split the second chapter into the third and fourth, things got a lot smaller. Next chapter: Holly spies on Artemis. But that night, at midnight, Artemis receives a very suspicious and seemingly dangerous visitor, all while Holly watches… Review, please!


	3. A Mysterious Visitor

I'm back! And I have brought with me a chapter that has at least a tidbit of action in it! Yay! I'm sorry if it takes me a while to update. Between school and sports, and al that junk, I barely have time for this story. But let me assure you, it does get better! Such as Artemis' magic getting stronger… Sorry for you Arty X Holly fans! I'm gonna pair him up with Minerva, and Holly up with… someone else… much, much later in the story. Now, on to the story!

Holly sat outside of Artemis Fowl's bedroom window. The dark of the night cloaked her so that, even if her shield suit were off, she would hardly be seen anyway. She looked inside the window for the thousandth time since she arrived. There was Artemis, still sitting where he was for the past six hours, still muttering the same incomprehensible words, still meditating...

That didn't strike Holly as strange. She had seen the boy doing this on various missions, and had been told first-hand from Butler that it was part of Artemis' routine to meditate before going to bed. On the contrary, it bored Holly out of her mind instead of alarming her. She had tried listening to the words Artemis was chanting, but they were either from his Eternity Code, which was pretty much the only language Holly didn't understand, or were just random sounds Artemis was using to sooth himself. _Whatever,_ thought Holly, _Either way, it 's extremely dull_.

Artemis' monotone voice, enhanced by Foaly's technology, was enough to drive a person crazy after listening to it for as long as she had. She gazed around the landscape and breathed in deeply, enjoying the fresh, above-ground air. The crickets were singing, the stars sparkling, and the moon was a huge, gorgeous glow. The scene was beautiful for all of her senses. _It's the only good thing about this mission, _thought Holly grumpily, then turned her head back to the boy meditating in his room. To her surprise, Artemis had stood, apparently done with his meditating. _It's about time, _thought Holly, _three in the morning is late enough to stay up..._

Holly froze. Artemis wasn't moving toward his bed. Instead, he just stood there, staring at one of the dark corners of his room, where the light from Artemis's small, ceiling lamp didn't reach and a small space was instead cloaked in darkness. He tensed up suddenly, then loosened and said something that gave Holly a small heart attack.

"What are you doing here so early, my friend?"

Holly gaped, then panicked. She was so busted! How the heck could he have found her? Her shield suit was working absolutely fine, and besides, his back was to her the whole time! There was no way he could have detected her!

"I-I'm just," stammered Holly, trying to regain her composure, "J-just early, I mean, um, the truth is-"

"I came here to warn you Artemis," interrupted another deep, masculine voice.

By now, Holly thought she couldn't be surprised by Artemis more than she was already tonight. But she was wrong. A tall, undetected, cloaked figure stepped out of the seemingly-empty shadow of the room's corner. Artemis had another hidden visitor.

Artemis turned away from the man (Holly assumed it was man), not at all as alarmed as Holly. It seemed that he felt this man a friend rather that a foe.

"This better be important," sighed Artemis, "I was enjoying meditating."

"It's about the problem your fairy acquaintance came to you with yesterday," said the cloaked figure, "The criminal behind the hackings is much more dangerous than you think, Artemis. I advise you use all of the common sense you possess." Holly wilted. Whoever this man was, he knew about her. He also seemed to have her line bugged as well, from what she had heard. From past experiences, Holly had learned that mysterious, creepy mudmen that were smart enough to bug her phone lines were usually not friends. Holly hoped that this man was an exception, for her and Artemis's sake.

"This criminal, he can't be more dangerous than me, could he?" said Artemis, the fun of his tease twinkling in his eyes.

The man didn't seem to think it was funny. "If the mastermind behind the problem is who I think he is, then you are in _grave _danger. Please be careful like I requested, Artemis."

Artemis smiled his vampire smile. "Aren't I always?"

The man was quiet for a moment, and Holly could only imagine what he would be feeling at Artemis's unnerving answer. He suddenly twitched.

"What?" asked Artemis, detecting the small movement.

"Butler has seen me on the surveillance cameras. I must be going."

"Wait!" gasped Artemis,suddenly loosing his cool. He wanted more information from the mysterious man. But unfortunately, the man had already slunk back into the shadows and vanished. A millisecond later, Butler barreled down the door with a thundering explosion.

"Artemis!" Butler gasped through the dust in his rumbling voice, "Are you alright?"

Artemis blinked in shock for a moment, then shook his head, regaining his composure.

"You know, Butler," he sighed, "The doors don't need to be crashed through. They open by themselves just as efficiently."

Holly gazed in on this whole scene, now completely shocked at the discovered information. _Perhaps this mission isn't a complete failure after all_, the more humorous part of her brain thought, _At least we know Artemis is guilty_.

_But what about that man? _she thought_, No ordinary human could detect Butler before he arrived in the room! There was something unnatural about him..._

Holly sat on that windowsill for the rest of the night, and finally decided, in the beautiful morning dawn to keep what she had just seen a secret. She had already betrayed Artemis by spying on him, and didn't want to betray him anymore. Besides, what small number of things Foaly didn't know wouldn't kill him.

Ooh, that was my longest chapter yet. Next chapter: The criminal begins to execute his plans! Review, pleeze!


	4. Meeting the Mastermind

OMG my next chappie is up. I really need more reviews. Seriously. Anyway, I'm soooo sick of having a cold ALL WINTER. It's gross. Like, even during the midterms everyone was getting angry at me cause every time I blow my nose it makes this huge honking sound… It sucks…. Hopefully, my story will be so amazing it will take away the pain of your cold( if u have one)! LOLOL, hilarious, my story amazing... No, really, enjoy the chapter.

The afternoon took longer to come than Holly could ever imagine. Artemis's whole day up until then consisted merely of: sleeping, eating breakfast, typing furiously on his computer, eating lunch, and then going back on the computer. _No suspicious happenings or mysterious cloaked figures appearing for Arty today,_ thought Holly grumpily, _Nooo, he sits typing on the computer. What a boring prodigy._

Finally, to her immense relief, four o'clock arrived. Holly dematerialized and floated down to Fowl Manor's two giant front doors. She was immediately greeted by the giant manservant, and was politely ushered in.

"So," said butler, leading the tiny fairy to the kitchen where food pleasantly awaited her, "What is this about a new hacker?"

"Well, it's not necessarily a hacker," replied Holly after taking a bite of the fresh salad laid out in front of her, "Foaly just has his suspicions."

"Then why should Artemis get involved? It sounds like something Foaly can handle," Butler rumbled.

"That's the thing," said Holly, "Foaly can't track down where the bugs are coming from. And even though they aren't anything major, who knows? The attacker could suddenly become serious instead of toying with us."

Butler nodded in agreement. "So you think Artemis could track him down."

"Yup," she replied, preparing herself for another bite from her delicious salad, but she stopped the fork midway to her mouth, "Speak of the devil. It really has been too long, mud boy."

The mastermind teen had just walked into the room. He had grown his hair out longer, so that it reached about an inch past his ears, and when Holly stood up to shake hands, in greeting, with him, she found that he was now at least two feet taller than her. _There's also a strange feeling about him,_ thought Holly, _Like my healing magic,only different..._

"Well, you're not really mud boy, now," she added, "More of a mud man…"

"It's nice to see you too, Holly," replied Artemis, "But I really need to get down to Haven to figure out what kind of problem we're dealing with."

Holly was silent for a moment. _He knows for a fact that it's a big problem_, she thought, _That man he saw yesterday told him so, and I'm betting, with an appearance like that, he wasn't kidding._ Holly was surprised at herself. _I guess I hoped he would confess about the visitor himself. I expect too much from the mud boy._

"First, though, you need to relax," said Artemis, breaking the silence and beginning to exit the room, "I'm sure the travel here must have been tiring." And with that, he disappeared through the doorway.

Holly blinked at his sudden departure, then thought about the feeling she got from the boy."I sensed something with him," murmured Holly, glaring at the space where Artemis once stood, "Like… a magic…"

"Well, you should," Butler rumbled back, "He does have the magic he stole during your last adventure, you know."

"Yeah, but I've sensed that magic before," blinked Holly at the mystery, "Now it feels… different… More powerful, I think." Butler shrugged in reply.

She was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts with a beeping alarm on her suit. It was her built in communicator with Foaly. She glanced at Butler, who nodded at her to answer it. She pressed the intercom button.

"What is it, Foaly?"

"Holly, come quick!" gasped the pony in a panicky voice, "Something really, really bad has happened!"

"What?" said Holly, alarmed.

"The hacker has finally stopped the bugs!"

Holly gaped at the communicator for a few moments, then got her anger back.

"Foaly, what the Frond did you scare the crap out of me for?!?" yelled Holly, "I thought something horrible had happened! The next time something good happens, say it's _good._"

"But it _isn't _good," groaned Foaly, "He's removed the bugs, and the bugs had a removal bomb attached to them, so-."

"Haven's shut down," said a voice from the doorway. Artemis had returned.

"Right, mud boy," said Foaly, recognizing the genius' voice.

"I heard the beeping from Holly's suit, and assumed something was up," said Artemis, explaining his sudden arrival, "That thing is loud."

"D'arvit," murmured Holly, realizing the seriousness of the situation, and feeling slightly ashamed for yelling at the poor centaur.

"D'arvit is right," said Foaly, "Haven's in a total lock down on account of the city has no energy whatsoever, now. People are panicking, prisoners are escaping, and every thing's a total chaotic mess."

"I'm sorry, Holly," said Artemis apologetically, "I think your resting break has been cut short. We need to get down to Haven, ASAP."

"Well, you'd think that quite obvious, wouldn't you?" sighed Holly at the obvious statement, "Foaly, send up a pod at the nearest location."

"Ummm, Holly, when I said 'total lock down' I kind of really, literally meant 'total lock down'."

Holly groaned, "No pods, right?"

"No pods," replied Foaly, "But I'm pretty sure you can use that advanced (and very well made, might I add) jet pack and gravity orb I supplied you with to travel. That should do you just fine."

"He doesn't mean…" said Butler.

"Yup," said Holly glumly, "All three of us on one pair of wings."

"The last time we tried that we nearly died, not to mention we vanished for three years," pointed out Artemis.

"Ah, but this time, you have my _gravity belt_. It'll be the same weight as Holly

after the Annual Winter's Feast," Foaly whinnied teasingly.

"Foaly, Frond help you the next time I see you, you just wait!" Holly snapped. But Foaly had already hung up, and didn't hear the furious threat.

"Holly, quit fooling around," said Artemis , even though he himself had trouble hiding a small grin, "We need to get going and save Haven, again..."

O 

The ride aboveground was, to put it shortly, badly unsteady. It left even Butler terribly shaken, and Artemis' knees were as steady as jello when they arrived at the hand-powered gate to Haven. They soon found themselves being ushered into an unsteady elevator that was lowered by six pixies and a levee. Not the most reassuring way to go down 500 feet in 20 minutes. By the time they got inside Foaly's office, they were at their wits end, and weren't nearly prepared for the excitement about to come.

The centaur's office was filled with computers, wires, and thousands of buttons.

"Don't touch anything," warned Foaly, "You wouldn't believe how many fairies have nudged the wrong circuit and found themselves put in jail for causing a quarter of Haven to black out."

Butler edged away from a particularly close wire nervously.

"Do any of these computers even work?" asked Holly, "We have no energy, right?"

Foaly snorted, "Of course we don't. But you can never be sure what a small nudge could do."

"On which computer did you first detect the virus?" asked Artemis, getting to work right away and hoping to forget about how dangerous the ride down to Haven was.

"The main one," said Foaly, pointing out a small computer connected to a wall-sized screen. Artemis bent down and began dissecting the computer's few wires.

"How can you figure out what happened with the computer if it isn't even on?" asked Holly, staring at the mud boy's crazy attempt.

"There are ways," said Butler and Artemis in unison, then both grinned, sharing secret memories of crimes long past.

Artemis adjusted a few wires, then hooked a third into a small outlet on his cell phone.

"This phone should give it enough energy to operate," explained Artemis, and sure enough, the huge, wall-sized screen flashed to live, revealing something even Artemis didn't expect. A figure, sitting in a dark room, was facing them, his face hidden in the shadows.

"Hello, Artemis," the person murmured, "Long time no see."

"Thats..." said Foaly, gaping at the screen.

"A boy's voice," finished Holly, amazed.

"Relax," Artemis told the group, "It's a recording. The criminal probably set this up assuming I would find it."

"I'm expecting that you have already figured out that this is a recording, and also that you have found I am the criminal and a real threat," Holly shifted uncomfortably. He had hit spot on.

"Just what we need," she groaned, "Another boy genius."

"I want you all to know that, even at this moment, your actions are being recorded by my henchmen. I will be watching you from this point onward, and expect you to do everything I request. If you don't, dire consequences will occur, so listen carefully to what I say."

"That voice," Artemis frowned, ignoring the imminent threat, "I've heard it somewhere..."

"So have I," added Butler, "It seems that we have met our mysterious criminal before."

"Shush!" hissed Holly, indicating at the recording, which was still going.

"I will request a meeting with you, Mr. Fowl,and I hope you don't mind if I give the time and place," said the boy, "You will meet me on the fourteenth of this month, at sharp noontime. The place is called the Ice of Ireland. I know you will be able to find it easily, for reasons you will soon find out."

"The Ice of Ireland..." Artemis murmured, "Do you remember such a name, Butler?"

"It does ring a bell," Butler replied.

"My last request, for now, is that you take Miss Paradizo with you. Or, if she doesn't suit, someone else of the same IQ. That is all I will ask of you for this step of my plan."

"Minerva? Why?" asked Holly, slightly ticked at the prospect of having to drag the whiny genius along with her.

"I would like to remind you, Artemis, and all who may join him along his way: If you do not follow my instructions exactly as I have told you just now, many deaths, fairies and humans alike, may result," Artemis could just imagine a smug grin on the hidden face, and cringed in disgust. The boy leaned forward, and for a brief moment,Artemis saw a pair of eyes flash malevolently in the darkness of the room, "This, Mr. Fowl, is the beginning of my revenge, and also the start of your _last _adventure, if you et my meaning. Goodbye for now, Arty!" And with that, the screen flashed off.

The silence after the recording finished was long and morbid, until Foaly rudely broke it.

"Nice kid," he snorted sarcastically, "You should schedule a play date with him sometime, Artemis."

"I think we just did," murmured Artemis, paler than usual.

Wellllllllll, that was long. It seems my chapters are getting longer and longer. That's good, right? I'm sooo happy that something actually happened in this chapter! The last couple of chapters were kind of dull, but I had to set up the story. Oh,well! Next chapter: the Ice of Ireland (you will find out where, or what, that is)! Review, pleeze!


	5. The Ice of Ireland

Hi! I'm back again! OMG, I just realized! I haven't been doing disclaimers! OK, OK, I don't own any of Eoin Colfer's characters (Artemis, Holly, ect.). I do own mine, like the creepy dude who wants revenge on Artemis. Whew. That was close. Well, here I go with the new chapter. Enjoy, and remember to REVIEW. FYI, I capitalized REVIEW for a reason ;)

Artemis sighed, collapsing into his chair. His head was pounding, his body was weak with fatigue, and his heart was beating about 50 times faster than usual from the excitement he'd received today. But he knew he couldn't rest until he found out what exactly "the Ice of Ireland" was.

"Ice of Ireland, Ice of Ireland," he murmured, hoping it would ring a bell. Nothing came to mind. And when nothing came to Artemis' mind, there was generally no answer.

Butler was downstairs, starting to prepare dinner, and Holly was back in Haven, joining the LEP in trying to calm the general public. He was all alone in his large, book-filled library, where his chair was as soft as a cloud and the only sound was the small mutterings of his own voice. For Artemis after his long, thrilling day, it was paradise. Unfortunately, the silence didn't stay for very long. A shrill ringing cut the air itself, making Artemis jump about a foot off of the fluffy couch. It was his cell phone. His eye twitched angrily, and he snapped the phone open.

"Hello," he sighed.

"Arty, is that you?" questioned a maternal voice through the phone.

"Mother!" said Artemis, cheering his voice up automatically, not wanting his mother to get worried about him,"How are you? How's Venice?"

"Wonderful, Arty, darling, it's so sunny and warm, it's doing us so much good!"

"That's great," said Artemis, smiling in spite of himself, "How's father been?"

"Oh, he's having the time of his life! He even went to a late-night opera last night with some of his old friends, and didn't come back to early morning, he enjoyed it so much! It's been wonderful here, Arty, like it's a new world. I just wish you had come. How's college going?"

Artemis paused, a sudden idea striking him.

"Arty? Are you still there?"

"Yes, yes, mother, I'm fine," gasped Artemis, collecting himself again, "May I ask you a question?"

"Of course, dear," replied the woman, eager to help her son with any problem he could present himself to her with. After all, it had been a long time since Artemis had asked _her _a question, usually she did the asking.

"Do you know a place by the name of 'The Ice of Ireland'?"

There was a silence at the end of the line, and Artemis began to regret asking her such a question. But then, "Why, yes, Arty, I do. May I ask why you would like to know?"

"An old friend told me to meet up with him there," replied Artemis, quickly making up a white lie, and ignoring his guilt.

"Oh, yes, of course," said Mrs. Fowl, "But I'm pretty sure that's one of the last places you would like to meet a friend, Arty."

"Why?" Artemis asked impatiently.

"Well, the place's real name is 'Mckinley's Ice Rink'. It's the skating rink where you used to be taught to, well, skate."

There was a tremendous silence, broken by an apology from Artemis.

"I'm sorry, Mother, I think I heard you wrong. Did you say that it was an _ice skating rink_?"

"Yes, love, it's the largest ice rink in Ireland. It was only called 'The Ice of Ireland' by a few people who went there often. Oh, you used to love going there as a child. You became quite a skater, actually. But then you grew out of it, and now I'd imagine you would get bored at the idea of 'sliding on a large ice cube', as you used to say."

Artemis sighed, slightly more mad than when he began the conversation.

"Well, I've only called to check up on you, Arty. Good luck with your classes."

"Yes," said the boy genius, "I love you, Mother."

"You too, Arty. Good-bye," she said, and a click signified to Artemis that she had finally hung up.

Artemis angrily bit his lip, so hard it bled. His countenance, still clear, contrasted the fury blowing about in his mind. _He's toying with us,_ Artemis thought angrily, _We finally thought he was through with playing games, but then he goes and jokes about a thing like this..._

A knock on the door made Artemis snap out of his mad state of mind, and he looked up to find Butler entering the room.

"I brought your dinner, hoping that you would like to eat up here?" Butler said/asked. There wasn't much real saying when you're a butler, more asking about preferences.

"Yes, up here is fine, Butler."

Butler walked up and handed him the tray of Hungarian mushroom soup, which happened to be one of Artemis' favorites. He then backed away and observed the seemingly content face. He sighed.

"Artemis, what's wrong?"

Artemis winced, knowing his calm visage hadn't fooled Butler.

"It's nothing, Butler," he replied, and paused for a moment before continuing, "Butler, could you please look up the location of the largest skating rink in Ireland, by the name of 'McKinley's Ice Rink'?"

"Going for a little vacation, Artemis?" Butler said, knowing very well it wouldn't be for a vacation.

"No, I just would like to spy on the business," he said, taking a sip of the steaming soup. Suddenly, he looked up and his eyes flashed, in either anger or devilish humor (Butler couldn't tell), "After all, it is 'The Ice of Ireland'."

Wheeeee! I've finished my fifth chapter! Here's a fast fact about how consistent I am with Fanfiction: I've never actually gotten past the second chapter, on any of my stories! So, yay for this story! Anyway, this chapter was a short one. I just wanted to get back in the sync of writing. Next Chapter: The 14th arrives! PLEASE REVIEW, AND DON'T BE LAZY AND SAY TO YOURSELF, "OH, SHE'S PROBABLY GOT, LIKE, 50 OTHER REVIEWS" CAUSE I _DON'T_! I ONLY HAVE 8! Ummm, yeah. Sorry about that... Um... Please review?


	6. Ice Skating

**Yay! My next chapter is up! Alright! U actually get to meet the villain! My story is finally getting interesting... This chappie is actually pretty cute, and I had fun making it. Or maybe it's just cheesy and short. Whatever. Enjoy!**

"An ice skating rink, huh?" said Holly, glaring at the humongous blue building, "You sure this is the place, Arty?"

"Positive. And don't call me 'Arty'."

"I don't like this one bit, Artemis," grumbled Butler, "A mastermind criminal shuts down Haven and demands that you come to a community building or else he'll basically help destroy millions. Not exactly the safest place to be."

"Relax," sighed Minerva, beginning to head toward the double-doored entrance, "I'm betting Foaly has already scanned this building three times over even before we arrived. He'd have told us if there was any risk. Right, Artemis?"

"Certainly," said the boy genius, following her.

"You never know, with Foaly," said Butler while holding the door open for a 'possibly lethal' four-year-old and his grateful mother, then entered the building after the two genii and the fairy disguised as a young girl.

"Hey," whined Foaly through an ear piece, "I heard that."

"Glad to know you're here, Foaly," muttered Butler, glancing around the area, from the information desk to the skate rental stand.

"My pleasure," whinnied the centaur back, "I'm watching you from a satellite, here back at HQ."

"Good," replied Butler, "We might need you." He followed his principal and the blond girl.

Minerva had grown quite a lot in three years, as was expected. Still with long, blond, and wavy hair and with sparkling blue eyes, and still with a stunningly pretty face. Artemis found he would be enduring triple the amount of 'love' jokes as ever, each less amusing to him than the last. But he still had those strange moments when he admired her beauty and smarts, but his shame and sanity soon put him back into place.

Ten minutes later Holly found herself standing before one of the twelve grand ice rinks the building contained.

"Number 3?" said Holly, "How did you figure 3 was the one he wanted to meet you at?"

"The only real choice for a genius would be 3," sighed Artemis, gazing at the figures gliding past in the rink.

"I don't really want to know why, do I?" muttered Holly.

"I think I can explain it pretty well," said Minerva, pursing her rose-red lips in thought, "Twelve, one, and six are taken out of the options. Too obvious. Five and ten are way too clichéd, those numbers are used way too much. Genii usually favor odd numbers, seem to think their title, 'odd', matches a genius' description well, so there goes two, six, and eight. Nine has nothing special about itself, and is thusly ruled out, and seven is currently under construction. That leaves eleven and three."

"So..." said Holly, "That still leaves two. How did you narrow it down past that?"

Both of the children's noses wrinkled characteristically as they looked up from tying newly bought expensive skates, and said in unison, "Rink number 3's much cleaner."

"Aw, now wasn't that cute," snapped Holly sarcastically, "Saying it at the same time and everything. Just like a real couple." She felt satisfaction in their responding glares, but knew they were probably right. Even about the rink being cleaner, though all the rinks did look the same to the untrained eye.

"Well," murmured Artemis, "Time to meet with the deadly mastermind. Here's hoping I remember how to skate."

"I've heard it's like riding a flare pod," said Foaly in his ear, "You never forget."

Artemis testily stepped out, and braced himself for a fall. None came. He heaved out a sigh. Suddenly, despite Butler's attempt to keep most of the huge crowd away from the boy, a person rushing by in a mysterious hurry rammed into the genius and sent him farther out into the ice. (**A/N: SlowMo:P) **For a moment, the gang watched as Artemis lurched forward, and winced as they watched him begin to fall. But, something unexpected happened. With a smooth movement, his leg stretched expertly, and instead of crashing into the ice, he glided away gracefully as if nothing had happened.

"Well, what do you know, Foaly?" said Artemis with a grin, "Maybe all those skating lessons half a decade ago did come in handy." Artemis was answered by a stunned (and slightly disappointed) silence. The centaur had been hoping to see the boy fall.

"Looks like the mud boy's actually good at this," said Holly, acting surprised. But secretly, she was shocked. Nobody but her saw what really happened, and it happened to involve Artemis' blue magic. _How did he do that? _thought Holly furiously, gazing at his leg, which was still shimmering blue in her sight. Holly had seen him begin to fall, then his leg begin to glow blue, and suddenly move with the reaction time and skill of an Olympian. _He manipulated his stolen magic so that it moved his leg in the way it needed to be moved. He didn't learn _that_ from a skating class... _But then wasn't the time to bring up the subject with Artemis. They had a criminal to meet with. She would mention it with him later. Yet, as hard as she tried to forget it, it nagged her like smell nags a dwarf. _This has to be connected with the mysterious man, _she thought suspiciously. _It has to be..._

"Come on, Holly," Butler grumbled, "Quit the daydreaming and get on the ice."

Holly eyed the ice nervously. She had never skated before. "You sure it won't crack?" asked Holly, unsure, "You look pretty heavy, big guy."

"It hasn't yet," replied Butler, standing in the rink, "And it's _father_ to you."

Holly's brow furrowed. She hated her shameful human disguise. Taking a deep breath, she stepped onto the ice, promptly slipped, and fell with a smack on the floor.

"That was quick," said Minerva slyly, gliding by with Artemis, who was now thoroughly enjoying doing a physical activity better than Holly.

"Shut it," Holly snapped as Butler kindly helped her up.

Suddenly, a large clock on the giant wall of the room began to ding. Twelve strikes.

"Noon," murmured Artemis, "And a genius is never late."

Butler's shackles instantly went up, and Holly wildly looked around for someone suspicious. Nobody. Suddenly,

"You're right," said a mysterious voice from behind Artemis, "They aren't."

**Well... U did meet him. Technically. Sort of. Not really. But, hey! I needed a cliff hanger!... OK, I'm sorry. U didn't really get that far into the meeting. But I promise to update soon! Like, within a couple of days! Sigh Please be nicer than me and Review!**


	7. Chatting with Death

**Hey! Didn't I tell u I'd update soon? It's been, like, two days. I'm so good! OK, enough bragging. I'm gonna make this chapter nice and long so that u can really enjoy it,instead of the sucky short ones I've been making. Enjoy!**

"Your right," said a mysterious voice from behind Artemis, "They aren't."

The group turned in shock to the entrance of the ring. There, among a crowd of calm tourists, was a boy. His face was shielded by a casual pair of sunglasses and a thick coat hood. He was about the same height as Artemis himself, maybe a bit shorter, and was dressed in a black coat, black jeans and a pair of expensive-looking black skates. He might as well have been wearing a cloak and a mask, for all Foaly could figure who he was.

"Greetings, Artemis," he said, "It's nice to see you've picked the right choice, and saved your fairy friends their secret."

Artemis stiffened, then gained his composure. "I didn't expect you to arrive alone."

The boy shrugged, then skated out onto the ice towards him. Butler shifted his weight so that he was in the criminal's path, making him stop in his tracks.

"You get no closer," the bodyguard rumbled dangerously, "Do I make that clear?"

"I get closer, or Haven is gone," snarled the boy in reply, "Do I make _that _clear? I'm carrying no weapons. Ask your brainy little centaur at the other end of the ear phone you're listening to."

There was a long silence.

"How did he know about Foaly?" whispered Holly, stunned. Artemis seemed indifferent.

"Uhhh," said Foaly, trying to regain his composure. It took a true genius to detect his ear phones."Yeah. Yeah, I'm pretty sure there's no weapons on him. Positive, actually. You'd better move, giant mudman. Arty will be fine."

Butler growled in unsureness, but finally edged to the left with a sigh. "Just don't make any sudden movements," he warned the boy.

He grinned in satisfaction, then glided toward Artemis. "It has been a while since we've met here. Well, now that I think about it, since we've met at all."

"You've been here with Artemis?" Butler blinked, but not too slowly. He didn't want to miss anything the criminal mastermind would try.

"Yes. We used to take classes together. That's a major clue, now, I hope you're getting it."

"I am," whinnied Foaly excitedly, "I'm hacking into the skating rink's system... and... here we are. A class of eight male students, including Fowl. Wow, no wonder Fowl hated it. It's jam-packed with girls, and with the dignity he has..."

"Shut it, Foaly," said Artemis, "This is serious. Just find out who he is."

"Roger."

"Hmmm..." said the criminal with a grin like a devil's, "It would seem that my blatantly obvious clue wouldn't be enough for you to figure out who I am. And you call yourself a genius."

"You didn't come here just to mock me, did you?" said Artemis, his eyes flashing.

"No. Of course not. I came to ask you..."

"Ask me what?" said Artemis.

The boy took a few steps closer, becoming a mere foot away from Artemis.

"...Have you ever known defeat?"

Everybody stared at the strange mastermind.

"What?" said Holly in shock, "What in Frond's name kind of question is that?!?"

Artemis, however, gulped. This boy was a real danger. Not because of the threats to reveal Fairy World to the humans, but because of this. He knew one of every genius' greatest fears: defeat. _Well, of course he would know, _thought Artemis angrily, _He's one himself!_

"I have known it," said the criminal, "As long as I've known life, I've known failing. And I'm sure you've become quite familiar with it, too,_ n'est ce pas_?"

"Of course," said Artemis, his countenance as revealing as a stone.

"But I'd bet my life that, even though you replay your defeats in your mind over and over each and every night, you never think _once_ about the failures, the trauma, that you yourself have caused to others. Yes?"

The silence that followed was filled by the contrasting cheerful chatter of the ice skating crowd.

"The failures... I have caused?" murmured Artemis, "You're not suggesting this is all about some past defeat I caused you, is it? A game you lost that I won?"

The criminal stared at him, then, to the surprise of everyone, began laughing. Then, when he was finished, chuckled, "You honestly suspect it's something as trivial as that? You insult me."

He turned his back on Artemis. "No, it's much more than that, as you will soon find out. It's a matter of life... and _death_."

Artemis froze. Everyone looked from Artemis, to the other mastermind, and back. _Man,_ thought Holly,_ I haven't seen Artemis look that scared since the trolls with Opal Koboi._ "Artemis," she said, the beginnings of serious uneasiness swirling in her stomach, "What the Frond does he mean?"

"Butler," growled Artemis suddenly, "Listen to me carefully, old friend. Guard Minerva."

"What?" Butler rumbled.

"You heard me," said Artemis, not taking his eyes off of the boy with his back to him, "Guard Minerva with your life."

"What are you planning to do, Artemis?"

"Yeah, and why Miss Bratty?" snapped Holly, "What about you?"

"Just do it."

Butler gazed around the room. Suddenly, a terrible, sinking realization began in his stomach, and he couldn't believe his stupidity. He had figured out what exactly Artemis was so worried about, and he had let it happen right under his nose. The silence told Artemis what had happened.

"Where is she?" he snarled at the boy's back, "_Where have you taken her_?!"

The mastermind chuckled in a manner that made him seem mad. "Do you know defeat when it's right in front of your nose, Artemis? Can you tell when you've finally lost? Because, from my point of view," he looked over his shoulder, back at Artemis, with a smile that nearly made Artemis loose his cool visage, "You've lost."

Butler's eye's narrowed. He could let this continue no further. _If I attack him,_ he assumed,_ it will force his associates to come out from their hiding place. And I can find out, from how many come out, how deep we're truly in this._ He dove at the criminal, ignoring the centaur screaming in his ear to stop. Suddenly, he was halted by what looked like half a dozen hands. Butler looked about. _Oh, yes, _thought Butler, _We are in this _way _too deep..._

And he was right. For every one of the several thousand people in the entire building had drawn their own, personal revolver and pointed it at the bodyguard's large head.

"Well, Artemis, what do you plan to do now?" the madman/boy, "As I see it, you have two choices. You can keep your honor, but at the price of both you and your girlfriend's life. Or you could admit to defeat, and get one last, lucky chance to save Miss Paradizo."

"Tough choice," muttered Holly under her breath, "Do we have to save her?"

"I would be a fool to choose the first," said Artemis, staring at the boy.

"That's not what I asked," replied the boy slyly, "I asked for your answer, not your opinion."

Artemis tensed up, but then relaxed, and sighed, a gesture of defeat. "You ... have won," he said tonelessly, but with a large effort, "Now, what is my 'last chance' to save Miss Paradizo?"

The criminal seemed surprised, as though he hadn't been expecting Artemis to cave in. He finally said, "Your challenge is simply to find her and retrieve her," he said, "And maybe, if you don't die in the process, I'll give you a little treat."

"What kind of treat?" asked Holly, trying hard to ignore the extremely twitchy man to her left, who was dangerously holding a revolver to her head.

"Revealing my identity, monologuing, telling you how I did it," shrugged the criminal, "Usual destructive genius kind of treat."

"Promise me," said Artemis suddenly. Everyone turned to find the genius staring into the eyes of the criminal with pure hate, "Promise me you won't hurt her."

The mastermind glared at Fowl, then chuckled. "You're in no position to make the demands, my friend."

"Just promise."

The mastermind blinked at our brown-haired hero, then lifted a hand, and snapped. Suddenly, there was a bang, and Holly thought the twitchy dude had finally jerked the trigger by accident. But instead, there was an explosion of smoke. It was thick, white, opaque, and had no trouble filling the whole of the giant, stadium-sized building.

"I can't see!" murmured Holly, listening to Butler curse and Artemis yell directions to the giant bodyguard, "He's not getting away without a real, fair fight..."

But Holly was sadly disappointed. When, ten minutes later, the smoke finally cleared, Holly found herself standing solemnly alone, the whole building empty besides her, Butler, and a very stricken Artemis.

"Artemis..." Butler said quietly, "I'm sorry."

"For what, old friend?"' said Artemis, scanning the empty rink.

"I... He never promised..."

"I wouldn't worry about Minerva, if I were you," said Artemis, "He won't harm her."

"How can you be sure?" cried Holly. She didn't care much about the female genius, she just cared that Artemis didn't care much.

"I could see it in his eyes," said Artemis, "Fear. What he hates me so much for, he's afraid I will do it again if I have reason to, I'm guessing."

"But..." said Holly, "What _did_ you do?"

"I have no idea," Artemis replied, beginning to skate out of the rink, "But I intend to find out."

**Well, I did it. I wrote what I thought was a pretty long chapter. Ummm... I actually don't have a lot to say. I guess I'll just fill it with begging you to review. So, yeah. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. Please review. OK, that's enough begging.**


	8. A Plan to Remember

**Yay! I'm back! It's been, what, two weeks or so? Anyway, I thought I'd fill this beginning thingy with telling you just how long this story will be. Ummmmm, I know it sounds crazy, from what has happened in the story plot so far, but I'm probably gonna make the Seven Seraphim a trilogy. Yeah, I know it sounds like a stretch from what I've written so far, but the story gets much, much more complicated than this. Yup. That would either make you love this story or give up on it right now, huh? Hopefully the first... Well, here's hoping I get the first in the series done pretty quick. Enjoy!**

"But, Artemis! We can't just march right up to his front door and knock, can we?"

Artemis sighed. He was getting sick of the whiny centaur criticizing his tactics annoyingly into his ear.

"Foaly, please," he groaned into his headset, "If I've told you once I've told you a thousand times: It's the one tactic he thought too dangerous to try, so it would, in retrospect, be the least prepared for, and thus the best way." He thought for a moment, "Besides, we're not _knocking_."

Artemis was lying on a hill, Butler and Holly by his side. They were gazing down at what seemed like a huge, metal fortress. Well, that was actually pretty much what it was.

"We have to save Minerva from _that _place?" said Butler in disbelief, "No wonder entering through the front door was the best plan. This place seems literally impermeable."

"Yeah, Arty," said Holly, "Maybe you should just get a new girlfriend."

The raven-haired boy glared at her.

"For being the person who's come up with the plan, I'm sure treated with a lot of disrespect."

"Well, considering your the only person who actually wants to save her in the first place, I think we have the right to disrespect you," pointed out Foaly.

"Don't talk like that, Foaly," Holly said pleadingly, "Even about Minerva."

"Sure, whatever," continued Foaly, "But there's still a big flaw in Artemis' plan. You know, the part about how the front door just might be _locked._"

"Honestly, of all the crazy plans we've been through with you, this seems the most idiotic. Especially for you," Holly admitted.

"Maybe a couple of years ago, it would have been," said the boy genius slyly, "But not now."

"What's so different about now?"

Artemis sighed, crawled back down the hill so that he couldn't see the giant building (and no-one on the building could see him), and stretched. "It's a technique I've created."

"A technique?" said Butler, "You make it sound like you're going to fight, or something."

Artemis stared at him, but not really _at_ him. It was more of a I'm-trying-to-hide-something-yet-trying-to-tell-you-something kind of stare. Butler had seen that look before.

"Artemis," he said slowly, "What exactly is this technique?"

"I-I'm not sure if I should tell you. I've tried to be smart, and use all the common sense I possess in this situation, but common sense doesn't really count for much. So I've chosen... I've resorted to..." he went silent in mid-sentence, then sighed, "I honestly don't know why I'm telling you this. You probably think  
I've lost it."

"No," said Foaly truthfully, shocking everyone at his kindness, but then, "I thought you had lost it six years ago when I first met you."

Holly bit her lip, ignoring the centaur's whinnying laughter in her ear piece. Possessing common sense in this situation. Serious deja-vu. With a shock, she remembered: The cloaked figure that met Artemis at midnight said that he should stay away from this place, that it was too dangerous. He said he should "use common sense in this situation." _What is Artemis trying to say?_ thought Holly disbelievingly,_ Is he actually ashamed for disobeying him? The great Artemis Fowl, ashamed? _"Artemis," she whispered, "How do you expect to get in?"

"I can't tell any of you the entire plan," said Artemis with a devilish grin, "Probably because you would do anything to stop it."

"That's reassuring," snorted Foaly, who had finally recovered from his cheesy joke.

"It should be enough for you to know just what you're going to do once we're inside the fortress to execute this plan properly."

"Yes, but do we even know what this fortress is like on the inside?" questioned Holly, "I don't know, mud-boy, this plan is just a little too risky for me."

"Maybe for you, but for the entire race of fairies?" Butler reminded her.

Holly opened her mouth to retort, but the raven-haired boy interrupted. "It's time to go, if my calculations are correct," he said, gazing at his watch, "Either we go through with this plan, or live with the possible guilt of what would have become if we don't. Now's the time to decide."

There was a silence as everyone realized the imminence of the situation. Then,

"But going in through the _front door_?" whined Foaly, "My little nephew could think up something better, and he's only 50!"

Artemis sighed, feeling a headache coming on. Leave it to Foaly to ruin the moment. But he had to admit, they all had a point. This plan was way too risky. _It's the only way to win against him under the current conditions,_ thought Artemis wearily,_ If I only had one more clue, or one more day to plan..._ But the fact was, he didn't. In fact, every minute counted. Every second is one second more Minerva was being tortured in that giant, metal fortress, and that was just one second too much.

"Well, whatever the situation, I'm with you, Artemis."

The boy snapped out of his thoughts to stare at Butler. The giant bodyguard was staring at him with unmistakable loyalty.

"Thank you, Butler," replied the Principal.

Holly clenched her fist, then sighed submissively, "All right, mud-boy. You got me. I'll come. Just promise me you won't do anything stupid, will you?"

"Holly, you know he won't keep that promise if he makes it," said Foaly, "By the way, this emergency, solar-powered connection will only last, at most, another two hours. So hurry up with this mission."

"Certainly," said Artemis, then paused, "What's the matter, Butler?"

Butler shushed Artemis, then silently pointed at a nearby bush, which was on the border of a small forest. Holly gulped. It was moving. Someone was inside of it.

Butler quickly, yet silently, drew a revolver from his coat pocket, aiming it at the rustling bush. There was no mistaking it for some small creature now: It was a human.

"Freeze," Butler called out in a fearsome rumble, "You're at gunpoint, so I'd advise you in the bush to come out slowly and quietly."

Needless to say, the person froze.

"Butler, it's me," said a female voice from inside the shrubbery, "I'm back from watching the guards."

Butler sighed in relief, lowering his gun. "Juliet," he growled grumpily, "Did you have to come from such a secretive area? I could have shot you."

The beautiful young woman stepped out, a sheepish grin on her face. "Sorry, big bro," she apologized, "But I wanted to keep out of site. Everything has eyes, you know?"

"What did you discover?" asked Artemis.

The blond tossed a straightened and highlighted lock over her shoulder. "You were right, as usual, Arty. The guards change every other hour, on the hour. In other words, in ten minutes time."

"Just as I thought. We need to leave immediately," said the teen genius.

"So we're officially doing this..." muttered Butler.

"Then, let's go," said Holly, and they were off.

U

(**A/N:** It's a robot dude!)

Ten minutes later, Holly couldn't believe how smoothly things were going for such a simple plan. By now, she had expected at least a dozen of the hundred guards patrolling the outside of the place to see through her shield and point the AK 47 each one wielded at her pretty little head. But then again, how could they see her?

Holly's part of the plan right now was to shield, and, using the new invention Foaly created, project her vibrations so that with the same amount of magic she used to shield herself, she also shielded the two Butlers and the teen Fowl, as well. With this power, she and the rest of the misfit gang snuck past each and every one of the guards without so much as a second glance.

"Hmmm," said Artemis, leaning forward and examining one of the black-suited guards close up.

"Artemis!" hissed Holly as quietly as she could, then gestured for him to get away from the guard. Although they couldn't see them, the guards could very well hear, smell, and touch them, and the last thing they needed was for one of the guards to run into the adolescent genius, and blow off their cover as easy as a dwarf can blow off his bum flap.

As they got closer to the two, grand, steel front doors, they realized just how large they were. Artemis gazed up at the giant doors, each as tall and as wide as the average house.

_Normal weapons don't stand a chance against these doors_, thought Butler in admiration,_ It'd take a form of dynamite, perhaps even a laser, to cut through those hunks of metal._

Artemis stared at this watch. "Twelve seconds until we go in," he whispered.

He had perfect timing. A dozen seconds later, two burly guards, nearly as large as Butler, strolled in, nodded to the pair currently guarding the door, and pulled them to the side for a small report.

"OK," whispered Juliet, "In, like, a couple of seconds, the two guards that were just, you know, guarding, should open those two doors and enter. That's when we should slip in, just before the doors close."

They all watched. They all watched as the guards put an end to their conversation, watched the two leave to go on break... and watched them walk in the opposite direction from the doors, get in one of the jeeps lined beside the fortress, and drive away.

"What?" hissed Juliet hysterically, "What? _What?!_"

"It seems that, ten minutes into Artemis' clearly brilliant plan, we have run into a glitch," snorted Foaly, "Big surprise."

"What do we do now?" whispered Holly in a panic, trying to keep her voice down.

All eyes turned to Artemis. He sighed, then massaged his temples. "I told you I didn't want to resort to this..." he murmured, "I really didn't..."

"You don't mean the technique you hinted about earlier?" asked Holly.

Artemis shrugged.

"You mean there's an actual technique?" said Butler in surprise, "I thought you were just saying that to try to convince us to join you in executing your plan."

"What technique?" whispered Juliet, feeling left out.

"I-I'm not sure if I should use it, though," pondered Artemis, "I'd have to unshield, and that would mean an approximate 98 chance of discovery, even with a distraction."

"Seriously, though, what technique?"

"Unshield?" said Holly, "Why?"

"Your magic would interfere with the process. Now, no more questions. Foaly, you there?"

"Need a distraction?" the centaur said eagerly, almost as if he was wishing the genius would ask.

"Yes," said Artemis, "Preferably big and flashy."

"No duh," said Foaly, and the group heard a series of taps as the centaur went crazy on his keyboard, planning what was no doubt going to give the guards a night to remember. Artemis was beginning to regret asking him to do it in the first place.

"Easy, Foaly," whispered Holly into her mike, "We don't want to overdo it..."

"OK, my good buddies, if I were you, I would stand over there, about ten feet to the right of those doors. And I'd hurry, as well."

They hurried, all right.

"Alright, release of distraction in three... two... one..."

**Yay! I love cliffhangers. You probably hate me now, though. How will Arty open the doors? What kind of heck will Foaly release? Will you be nice and give me a review? We'll find out soon...**


	9. Opening the Doors

Yessssssssssssss the next chapter is up and I finished it and it took like a month to make and its sorta long and good and it actually has some action in it and I think you will like it even though it took me such a long time to update cause I got kinda distracted with other weird hobbies of mine and I'm getting kinda bored with this run on sentence so I'll stop but I hope you still enjoy the chapter... Yeah.

"Alright, release of distraction in three... two... one..."

They all waited tensely. Nothing happened.

"Um, Foaly," whispered Holly into her mike, "I'm waiting."

"Patience, Holly," Foaly, "The truly artful plans take more than half a second to execute. You should know that."

"And _you_ should know that any second now, a guard is going to run into us, and we'll be discovered!" snapped Holly, "Maybe you should try being out on the field for once, see how artful your plans are then!"

"Okay, then. Sheesh. Short, gaudy, brutal plan it is, for the fabulous field sergeant." A button click was heard through Holly's speaker. "I was originally going to construct something involving rouge teen mudmen and a riot against pollution, but Gods forbid that distraction take more than ten seconds!"

Suddenly, a loud bang cracked through the air. The guards simultaneously jerked their heads skyward, toward the source of the sound. Almost too simultaneously. It seemed unnatural even to Butler, who knew that with practice, a group of men could move almost as one. Yet this was not "almost." This was too perfect. Butler took his gaze off of the guards, remembering their current situation, and followed their eyes to a dark speck in the sky, no doubt the cause of the explosion. A speck that was steadily getting bigger and bigger.

"Foaly," said a curious Artemis into his own headset, "What was your back-up distraction?"

"Watch, mudboy," chuckled Foaly, "Watch."

The mudboy watched. The speck grew larger, forming the shape of a plane. An F-16 Fighting Falcon, to be exact. The whole premises jolted into action as realization hit them: a mysterious fighting plane was currently putting them under fire. Guards immediately ran orderly into action, setting off alarms and getting into designated assault positions. Another crack whipped through the air, and this time, Foaly added an extra effect: the front lawn bursting into an explosion of flames. Apparently, the jet was firing at them.

"Yikes!" murmured Juliet, "I can actually feel the fire's heat..."

"You should. This is the best effects you can buy, both on on the earth and below it," said Foaly, "And I'd like to remind you, especially you, Holly, that due to the situation, I _may_ have to animate a couple of guards getting blown up. _May_."

"Foaly," growled Holly, "Gods help you even _think_ about animating one single guard being killed. Or else..."

"Or else what?" said Foaly, figuring that in certain circumstances Holly's payment just might be worth the crime. Blowing up animated mudmen was fun.

"Let's just leave it at 'the fake guards won't be the only dead meat around here', and I'll let your imagination figure out the rest."

"Ahhh..." said Foaly considering the possibilities.

There was another bang, and less than a second later, an area with at least a dozen guards blew up into flames.

The fairy stared, then gained her voice back. "FOALY, YOU'RE DEAD!" she yelled, her fury-filled screaming luckily overwhelmed by the explosion and unheard by passing guards.

"Just get on with opening the door," whinnied Foaly nervously, the sense of blood lust from Holly making him uneasy. Leave it to Holly to spoil his moment of glory.

Artemis nodded, and slowly began to edge his way toward the two giant doors. He eyed the swooping jet, noting the realistic quality of it. It made his heart pound, even though he knew that it was fake. He inwardly grinned. Foaly had made upgrades. Yet, perhaps it was a little too realistic. Guards were flooding onto the lawn, weapons in hands. They expertly lifted the guns onto their shoulders and waited, their gaze following the F-16 dancing in the sky. Suddenly, a call rang out over the grounds.

"Fire!"

With a roar greater than anything Artemis had ever heard, every guard fired a shot directly at the plane at exactly the same time. Quite a noise.

"Dear gods," shuddered Foaly, "These mudmonsters are good." He pressed a few buttons, and the hologram plane easily dodged the soaring bullets, "I'd hurry up, though, Artemis. Those guards aren't too stupid, and besides, I only have about two more minutes of power left."

"Thank the gods," whispered Holly, who was now relatively ticked at Foaly, and winced every time the centaur's voice blared though her headset.

"Hey, I can hear you, Holly. And what the heck is that mudboy doing?"

Artemis had lined up with the metal doors, and instead of beginning his plan to open them with full force, was standing there, hands flat on the door. Feeling them.

Holly blinked. "Artemis, this is no time for fooling around! Let's get going!" But the raven-haired boy didn't move. "Artemis?"

"Quiet," Fowl said shortly, turning his head toward Holly shortly, "That _was_ my plan. Now watch."

"What? You feeling a giant rock? My gods, Artemis, if this is your amazing plan, you've doomed us-."

"Shush," Butler quieted, "Artemis wouldn't bring us into this just for that. He must be doing something."

Holly opened her mouth to say something, then shut it. She had to admit, she was curious. They all watched Artemis put his hands back on the door and close his eyes. And stood. And stood... Suddenly, Holly noticed something strange about the boy's hands.

"What-?" she gasped.

Artemis' POV (Sort of)

Artemis could feel the steel's chill beneath his fingers. He allowed himself one brief shiver from the icy touch, then turned back to the situation at hand. _Magic,_ he reminded himself,_ I need my magic._

He breathed in deeply, calling to the depths of his body, where the power resided. Slowly, his eyes closed. And then he could see it: A glittering light, not just in the color blue, but in every color of the spectrum. Artemis reached and grasped (mentally) the glowing sphere-shaped figure, harnessing its power.

_This might become interesting,_ thought Artemis,_ This will be the first time that I use my magic to move something outside of my body. It could have strange results. _He sighed._ I guess I really have no choice. The best chance of saving Minerva is this._

He shoved the magic through his arm, and let it shoot through his fingertips and into the metal door.

_So far, so good, _thought the teen, _Now comes the hard part._

With all of his strength, he shut of all of his senses, so that he could no longer feel, smell, hear, and taste, as well as see. Automatically, his so-called "sixth sense" kicked in. He had predicted this, luckily. This sense was controlled, not by taste buds or ear drums, but by his magic itself. Artemis was exhilarated by the new feeling. It wasn't a sense for dead people, in the least. In fact, it seemed almost like a second sight. He could sense everything in the door: Not just the metal, but the wiring from which alarms were set off from, electricity wiring, and... there it was. The wiring that controlled how and when the doors opened and closed.

Artemis grinned.He had done it. He made his magic move up the wiring, and let a single spark touch the opening wire. That would be just enough to make the door open about two feet wide, which, Artemis estimated, was about 1/14 of what how far the door would normally open. From there they would have about ten seconds to slip in before the spark's power ran out, and the door automatically closed again. Hopefully, no-one would notice the door's spontaneous opening and closing through all the panic of Foaly's distraction.

Artemis exhaled, returning his senses and his magic to their rightfully places. He opened his eyes.

"Let's go," he said.

Normal POV

"What-?" Holly gasped.

She was gaping at the mudboy's arm. It was shimmering. Since when did the mudboy's arm shimmer?!

"What is it, Holly?" asked Butler, curious about why she gasped. Then he noticed. "What's that haze around Artemis' arm?"

"Uhh, OK. That's weird," whinnied Foaly through the headphone, "My sensors are saying that Artemis' arm is filled with... No, that's not right. That can't be right."

"It is right," whispered Holly, "Magic. Stolen magic, to be exact."

There was a silence. Then,

"He promised me he would try not to use it," said Butler.

"Well, _that's_ something you'd only suspect from our Arty," chuckled Juliet, beyond further amazement.

"SINCE WHEN WAS THE MUDBOY ARMED WITH MAGIC?!?" whinnied Foaly in despair.

"Since we went to Hybras," muttered Holly, "I'll tell you about it later."

"NO, YOU WILL TELL ME ABOUT IT N-!!" suddenly, Foaly was cut off.

"Ah, peace," sighed Juliet, "His emergency battery for our headphone's gone out."

There was another explosion from the plane's fake fire, so close to them that their faces burned with the heat. Way too close for comfort, even though they new it was fake.

"I take it Foaly's not too happy about being left out..." grumbled Butler.

"It also means that his distraction won't last much longer, as well, if the headphone's have gone out," mused Holly, "Whatever Artemis is doing with his magic, he'd better hurry up."

As if to answer to her prayers, a small grinding noise filled the air, and their eyes were drawn to the two giant doors. They were opening.

"Let's go," said Artemis, his eyes jerking open.

"Oh, so your back in the world of the living now, are you?" nagged Holly, "Took your sweet time."

"Did you not hear me?" snapped Artemis, whirling about to face them. His face was paler than usual. "Go through the doors! Our time is limited."

They stared at him for a moment, shocked. A crack from the F-16 brought them back to life.

"Understood," said Butler. Without question of what was actually inside, they rushed through the mighty metal doors and into the giant fortress.

Well, what d'you think? Do you know how hard it was to describe Arty's magic? Well, I'll tell you. It was sorta hard. So there. Uh, yeah. I don't really have much more to say. Maybe you could mention what I should talk about in these beginning-ending thingy's in your review. Hint hint.


	10. Inside the Fortress

**Yay! I'm finally finished with the new chapter! And it only took me three months... lol. I hope you enjoy it, it's not too long. I also appreciate all the reviews you've given me! This is now my most successful fanfic yet. Thanks:D **

**-Luckyrules321**

* * *

"Artemis," Butler muttered to the boy quietly, "Just what are you leading us into here?"

The Fowl trudged further yet into the seeming dark abyss of the fortress. The door had closed with a muffled thud behind them, leaving the team of four trapped in darkness. Appariently the mastermind criminal didn't bother with paying the electricity bill, because there was not a light to be seen.

"Hmm," he said, pretending to think about his answer.

"This is no time for humor!" snapped Holly, catching up with the two mudmen, "I want to know your whole plan, not just a section of it, Fowl. And I want to know it _now_, before we're killed or bombarded by guards."

"I told you outside. There's a reason why I don't tell you the whole of my plans, Holly," shrugged Artemis, gazing curiously into the darkness.

"And why is that, mudboy? So that by the time we know the whole plan it's too late to back out?" snorted the fairy, "I learned that sneaky trick of yours back at Spiro's place, Fowl, and I don't intend to cut off any more mudmen's fingers, thank you very much."

"That," admitted Artemis, "And the fact that I think dramatically unveiling my, dare I say, geniously designed plans is very entertaining."

"Just like I think dramatically unveiling my, dare I say, lethal fist to voilently your face is entertaining?"

"... Precisely," replied Artemis.

"Quit bickering, you two," groaned Juliet, "This is serious."

"You do realise, Artemis, that no serious danger can befall Juliet in your plan. I won't allow it," warned Butler.

"Of course, I thought you might want it that way," reassured Artemis, "Even though it is a bit too late to be requesting that."

"Hey!" cried Juliet indignantly, "I haven't gotten any action since my memory got erased. You guys need to share!"

"Shhh!" hushed Holly "You want those guards to find us?"

There was a silence, the first one since they walked into the fortress.

"No need," said Artemis, breaking the peace. Everyone's alarmed gazes stopped searching the darkness in vain, and focused on the shadow of Artemis in disbelief.

"What?" hissed Holly, "You want us to get caught?"

The young Fowl sighed.

"I didn't say that. I said that there's no need to be quiet. It's impossible for the guards to hear us."

"Uhh," blinked Juliet, "How?"

Artemis shook his head, tsking her horrible grammar.

"You could tell, couldn't you, Butler?" asked Artemis, "That something wasn't right about those guards?"

"Yes, but..." admitted the bodyguard, "I didn't think that they were all _deaf_."

"Indeed," said Artemis, halting in his seemingly aimless trek through the dark room, "And what seemed odd about them?"

"This is no place for a conversation!" snapped Holly.

"On the contrary," replied Artemis, "I see nothing wrong in pointing out a major flaw in the guards, especially since we will probably come face-to-face with some soon. You all need to know this."

"They were way too perfect," claimed Bulter, trying to ignore Holly's furious muttering, "They moved in identical gestures at indentical times, which any man trained in the fighting arts knows is near impossible for a group of that quantity to pull off. It was amazing, almost..."

"Almost what?" prodded Artemis, urging him on encouragingly.

"Almost inhuman," sighed Butler.

Artemis snapped his fingers, "Precisely."

Holly gaped, then said, "What the heck do you mean, 'precisely?'"

"I mean, the guards are mechanically produced. In short, robots."

Holly gaped again. By now her jaw felt numb from all the gaping.

"Robots?" snorted Juliet, "Y'know, I'm pretty sure I saw something like this in a horror film, a gang trapped in a dark fortress filled with robots. It wasn't a pretty ending, though."

"I figured it out when observing that guard outside. I would have found out more if _somebody_ wasn't snapping at me to get away," sighed Artemis, glancing toward Holly's darkened figure, "I checked most of the guard for any sign of a device that would enable it to hear, but I found nothing. And when Foaly's plane came, they jerked their heads up a millisecond before the plane actually made a noise. One of the guards saw it and alerted the others, no-one actually _heard_ the gunshot."

"This is crazy," groaned Butler, "Almost like a dream."

"Almost like a nightmare," corrected Holly angrily, "Why didn't you tell us this earlier, mudboy?"

Artemis ignored her question. Too repetitive, he told her the answer to that one two minutes ago. He didn't reveal his plans more than he needed to.

"This kid must have one heck of an allowance," whistled Juliet, "Creating a fortress entirely run by robots and all."

"You know, he really is something," the young Fowl said, his voice a mixture of admiration and annoyance, "To create something as vast as this, without anyone, Foaly included, realizing a thing. He must be amazing."

_"Was that a compliment?" _said a giant voice, accompanied by chuckling, _"I didn't think you were capable of such things, Fowl."_

The gang whirled about, searching for the source of the sound. Holly felt her soul chill. That was clearly the voice of the criminal. They were found.

Suddenly, the lights flashed on, blinding the quartet for a few seconds. Then they had a brilliant view of the room, through watering eyes. It looked very future-esque, with silver floorings and white walls. The room seemed to be 16000 square feet in all, and filled with seemingly nothing besides the florescent, expensive looking strips of light on the domed ceiling. Artemis found himself standing near the center of it all, his eyes darting around for the source of the noise.

"Wow," was all Juliet could manage to say.

"Let's cut to the chase," said Artemis, hoping to draw the boy to speak again, "You knew this was how I would get in, correct?"

_"Basically,"_ the mysterious voice replied, _"Although I'd have to say, opening the front door like that was a surprise. I thought you would just hack into my system somehow to open the door. You have some style, I'll give that to you."_

"He surprised us all," muttered Holly under her breath.

"Speakers," rumbled Butler, finally identifying where the voice was coming from, "He's talking from some other place in the fortress through speakers."

_"That's a clever guard you've got there, Fowl,"_ said the voice of the criminal, echoing throughout the room, _"I take it he's a Butler?"_

"There is no time for joking around," said Artemis, his face emotionless.

_"If I'm correct, I'm the one that has the upper hand here, Artemis,"_ sneered the boy, _"You need to learn your position. After all, you were the one who decided to get yourself caught in the first place."_

"Artemis didn't _want_ to get caught!" snapped Holly to the ceiling, where she assumed the speakers were, "His plan just didn't work out! Right, mudboy?..."

Holly looked at the Fowl for reassurance. Artemis just sighed.

"There's a reason I don't tell you the whole of my plans, Holly," he said dully.

There was a silence. Slowly, Holly's face began to get red. Butler grabbed her just in time, right as she lunged for the mud-boy.

"WHAT THE FROND DO YOU MEAN YOU MEANT FOR US TO GET CAUGHT!?" screamed Holly in her fury, "DO YOU KNOW HOW MUCH DANGER YOU PUT US ALL IN, FOWL?!?! I'LL KILL YOU!!! I'LL-"

"Holly," said Artemis in a desperate attempt to get her calm, "Hear me out-"

"I WILL NOT HEAR YOU OUT! I'LL MURDER YOU!!! YOUR GUTS ARE MINE, MUDBOY!! YOU JUST WAIT!!!-"

"_Holly_," said Butler, his booming voice making her stop in her rant, but only for a moment. Holly slowed her struggling and glared at the mudman questionably, "Just listen for a moment. He told me this plan wouldn't put Juliet in danger, remember? And I for one believe him."

Butler turned to Artemis, waiting for his explanation. Artemis breathed in deeply.

"None of you three are in danger," Artemis reassured them, glad that Holly was finally calmed down, "Because the criminal isn't after any of you three. Isn't that right?"

_"...Correct,"_ said the voice from the speakers, sounding slightly humored, _"Although I'd have to say, I'm quite enjoying viewing this from my cameras. It's all very dramatic."_

Holly flushed and growled, biting back several hundred cuss words.

"And how did you figure out that?" Juliet asked Artemis.

"Because, if you remember correctly, he didn't ask directly for Minerva," Artemis replied, "He asked for Minerva, _or someone of equal intelligence_."

"Which means," murmured Butler, thinking it finally safe to release Holly.

"That he's only after genii," finished Artemis.

_"Very well done,"_ said the criminal, _"Though I'd have to say I suspected as much from you. Actually, I'd expected that you would have figured out my identity by now. Maybe you're missing a clue that I thought you had..."_

"I think you're forgetting something," said Artemis, putting the criminal back on track.

The speakers crackled as the criminal sniggered, _"Oh, yes. The girl. I remember now. Well, I did make a deal to return her to you. Here she is, safe and sound."_

For a moment, Artemis thought he was lying. Nothing had happened. But then, there was a small creaking sound, and a gap appeared out of no-where in the wall farthest from him. A door. Two of the guards walked out, carrying a touseled looking Minerva. She was blindfolded and muted with two strips of cloth, with both her arms and legs tied, and was clearly unconsious. The guards set her down lightly, then strolled through the gap, the door dissappearing as quickly as it had appeared.

"Minerva," Artemis whispered, forgetting the situation for a moment. It seemed like years since he had last seen the fifteen-year-old girl.

Butler immediately jogged toward her and started checking for any injuries.

"She seems fine," he called back to the worried group, "Just unconsious."

_"My apoligies, Artemis,"_ sighed the criminal, _"But the girl wouldn't shut up. She kept whining and yelling about how you would come to save her, giving me a dreadful migrane. Tranquilizing her seemed the only way to get peace."_

Artemis sighed inwardly. For now, Minerva was safe. Butler had picked up the blonde and was bringing her back toward the group. Yet despite the Fowl's relief, the tension in his neck remained. Artemis could feel a headache coming on. Something was still bothering him.

"What do you want from me now, now that you've trapped me here?" asked Artemis, looking once more around the room.

_"Ah, you'll see,"_ cackled the speakers, _"I suppose your friends may go free if they want. I see nothing special with that girl, other then her unusually large mouth. My revenge now lies with you, Mr. Fowl."_

"Is- Is that so?" replied Artemis slowly. His headache was worsening.

"We're not leaving Artemis!" snapped Holly.

_"Well isn't that a sudden change from before,"_ sneered the criminal mastermind, _"A couple of minutes ago you were screaming about how you wanted to pull his guts out."_

"You're starting to get on my nerves, you brat," growled Holly to the invisible boy. But Artemis stopped her, putting his hand gently on her shoulder.

"L-Leave him be, Holly," he murmured.

"I will not..." she began, but then she paused in mid-sentence, "Artemis... your hand is shaking..."

Artemis gazed at his hand to see if she told the truth, but found that his eyesight was blurring. His head was pounding ferociously now, making him nauseous. He felt himself swaying on his feet. Something was wrong, the sudden migrane was defenitaly unnatural.

"What?..." he gasped, struggling to keep his balance.

"Artemis!" cried Juliet, catching the boy as he fell.

Darkness was eating at the corners of his eyes. Artemis struggled to lift his suddenly heavy hand to the back of his neck, where the tension began. His hands made contact with something cold and hard. Tentitively he yanked the object out, examining it.

"A... A dart..." he murmured, then gave in to the darkness, completely knocked out.

* * *

**Muah-ha-ha-ha-haaaaa!!! I left you with yet another cliff hanger! I'm pretty sure that if I keep doing this, I'm going to loose readers... lol. Sorry if there are any spelling mistakes, I finished this at 11:30 at night :p I just wanted to get it over with! Well, review please!**


	11. The Black Willow Syrup Sercret

**The next chappie is finally up! It's kinda short, though, I'd have to admit. Well… I've already ran out of things to say. Cut me some slack, it's 12 in the morning… lol just R&R :P.**

* * *

"Artemis!" shouted Butler, sprinting toward the fallen principal with Minerva slung unceremoniously over his back. He caught up to the teen in five humongous bounds, kneeling down beside Juliet to examine him. 

"He's out cold!" cried Juliet with alarmed guilt, "I'm sorry, bro, they must have shot him when you went to pick up Minerva! I should have sensed something was wrong, this is my fault…"

But Butler was barely listening to his sibling. Instead, he was examining the dart that poisoned Artemis. The tip of the long, cone-shaped shot was glistening with an unknown substance, one obviously designed to, in the least, immobilize the target. Butler hoped that immobilizing was as far as the poison went. However, the constitution of the substance seemed odd, different from any other tranquilizer he had seen. It was thicker, much thicker. Almost… syrupy.

_"Would you like to know the name of that substance Mr. Fowl now contains in his body?"_ said the booming voice of the criminal from the speakers, _"I can't promise you'll know of it, though, even if I did."_

Holly snarled. "Don't act so cocky, mudboy!" she spat to where she assumed the speakers were, having no actual person to direct her anger towards, "If we were face to face, instead of hiding behind that microphone of yours, maybe you wouldn't have such confidence!"

_"And maybe if you were out in the open instead of trapped in my fortress you would have a right to say such things, fairy,"_ the boy snapped back, _"Now hold your tongue, or the Fowl will die."_

Holly held her tongue.

_"The poison injected into your dear Arty is something called Black Willow Syrup,"_ continued the mastermind, _"Have any of you heard of such a substance?"_

Butler had no clue, nor did the puzzled Juliet, who was still clutching Artemis.

"Black Willow?" she said, "Don'tcha mean 'Black Widow'? Like the spider?"

"No," murmured Holly grimly, "He meant what he said."

_"Oh!"_ said the booming voice of the prodigy, sounding both surprised and pleased, as though he had just found a 20 dollar bill in his pocket, _"Maybe the fairy knows more than just snide comebacks. Tell me, Short, have you heard of my poison before?"_

"Yes," she bit her lip, "Black Willow Syrup is extremely rare, that is true. But even more extreme is its ferocity. It was found in the rare Black Willow Tree, which became extinct even before the People were forced underground. Its syrup used to be one of the most famous substances, but the syrup's fame seemingly died out with the trees. However, there are rumors that some of the tree's legendary syrup has lasted, still poisoning people silently and anonymously. Once in the system, the syrup will come into effect nearly immediately. It will slowly deteriorate the host's insides, causing the person to loose consciousness first, appearing conveniently like a mere tranquilizer. But then a fever takes hold, burning the hosts insides apart 'till he can no longer function, and then…then…" she was silent, her throat suddenly too dry to speak.

"Is there a cure?" said Butler, forcing the alarm out of his voice. He didn't need any further explanation of the poison. Holly seemed to have gotten the point across.

Holly inhaled sharply, then said, "Only the bark of the Willow can cure it. But since the Black Willow Trees are extinct…"

"Artemis is screwed," finished Juliet, the humor of her words contradicting the seriousness of the situation sickeningly.

They all stood in silence. Butler slowly laid Minerva down, almost as though in a dream. Juliet's arms were shaking. Suddenly the serene, unconscious face of Artemis seemed more absolute.

They stayed that way for what seemed like eternity.

Suddenly, the sound of the genius snorting in laughter echoed through the speakers. _"You know, I managed to buy a piece of the bark along with the poison, so the Fowl isn't dead just yet. I just used that particular poison to make sure Arty would do what I want."_

The next silence seemed to last for yet another eternity.

Suddenly, Holly screeched such a stream of profanity that even the LEP soldiers who taught them to her would have winced.

"GAHHHHH I WILL _KILL _YOU, YOU LITTLE PIECE OF-!"

Thankfully, her next words were cut off by Butler, saving the author tons of censoring.

"So… there's a way Artemis can live?" he repeated tentatively.

_"Yes,"_ the genius sighed, _"I originally designed this test for Artemis on his own, which is why I only poisoned him, but if you wish to help him you may."_

"We're staying," said the two Butlers immediately.

"Me, too," snarled Holly, her face flushed in anger "I wanna help Artemis kick your annoying little genius -."

_"It's settled then,"_ said the mastermind,_"Artemis will have a little help in the race to save his life."_

The three left in the group that were still conscious stood, willing to take on anything. After all, Artemis was still in danger. The fight wasn't over just yet.

* * *

**Will Artemis be saved? Will the criminal mastermind be defeated? And will Holly ever be able to say a un-censored swear word before being interrupted? Find out next time, but only if you review:P**


	12. A Genius' Nightmare

**Sorry it took me ages to upload. This chapter is kinda weird. Again, I apologize for any spelling mistakes. I actually finished this at 1:30 AM, lol!! I know, I'm really sad...**

Burning. Artemis was burning. Slowly, he opened his eyes and found himself gazing at a horrifying sea of flames, licking and cascading around him, scorching his skin. The fire's scalding lounges made him start in pain and jump quickly to his feet.

_What the-?_ thought Artemis in alarm, gazing wildly about him, _Where am I?_

He shielded his face in a vague hope to protect himself, then ran, diving into a wall of fire in the hope that there might be a concealed way out behind it. But it was in vain. Artemis was, instead, greeted by more raging flames. Alarm struck him. It was as though he was in some hellish dream, a nightmare. At least, he hoped it was just a dream. If not, he was screwed.

"This isn't logical," the teen reassured himself, wiping sweat out of his eyes as the fire licked at his designer suit, "I should have died by now, the fire should have caught on my clothes. And though I feel the pain of burning," he continued, eying the pale, sun-deprived skin of his arm, "My skin should have burnt. This must just be a hallucination, a mere dream tainted by my troubled mind."

"You've got that right, Fowl."

Artemis turned so fast his neck cricked. The fire was parting to reveal a tall, cloaked man who's face was disguised by a thick hood. The flames danced about him with the intent of eating him along with his surroundings, yet instead seemed to have created a small perimeter about a foot thick around him, as though the man was protected by an invisible barrier. He walked slowly toward toward Artemis with the fire parting for him with every step, his black cloak making him resemble a tear of black abyss among a swarm of hellish flames.

"You always did seem to appear at the oddest moments," sighed Artemis, blinking the sweat out of his eyes and trying his best to force his fear out of his face, "But my dreams? I should think that I could at least escape you while I sleep."

"Indeed," the man chuckled, "I come at any time I think suits, regardless of what you'd prefer. And this time is one I certainly think suits."

"So what is it you would like this time?" questioned the Fowl, "Come to warn me of some future trouble I should avoid?- Augh!" the fire crackled, snapping dangerously close to his eye and making him flinch.

"Ah, sorry about that. I forgot," realized the man suddenly. The fire that was quickly closing in on the panicking Artemis suddenly jumped back, as though doused with a bucket of icy water. Artemis was now protected by the same barrier his mysterious friend had, and was pretty relieved about it, as well. A second later and Artemis would've been toast, in a most literal sense.

"Did... Did you do that?" Artemis hesitated to ask, "Or was that just another part of my dream?"

"I did it," said the man with a shrug.

"And by your answer," mused the black-haired boy, "I can assume you're not just a part of my dream, as well?"

The man's teeth flashed in a devilish smile beneath the shadow of his hood. "I suppose so," he replied slyly.

Artemis, under normal circumstances, would have not believed such a thing, even in his dreams. But ever since the mysterious man had come into his life, he became accustomed to the unusual, law-defying business that he seemed involved in. Such as the fact that he could enter every room, regardless of the security, or that, as Artemis just recently found, he could control fire.

"So, dream or not," sighed Artemis with a casual air, "Why did you come? I don't suppose you stopped by just to say hello."

"No," said the cloaked figure, "I came by to scold." His voice took a sudden, stern tone. "Did I not warn you about going up against this criminal, Artemis? Did I not specifically describe what danger you would be in if you continued associating with him?"

"I was curious," admitted Artemis shamelessly, "A genius the same age as me, who could cause the whole of Haven to go into a panic? It seemed I had finally met my match, and with my longing for a challenge, he seemed a dream come true."

"Well, your 'dream come true' has already kidnapped your friend, put the rest of your gang in mortal danger, and is succeeding in killing you right now, unless you do something to stop him. Do you think that is an adequate price to pay for you quenching a small plague of curiosity?"

Artemis was struggling to hide his sheepishness from his countenance when the whole of his words struck him.

"What do you mean, 'killing me'?"

"The dart he hit you with was filled with more than tranquilizer, you know."

Artemis felt more like an idiot than he had ever felt before. He had really gotten himself in it deep this time.

"Well," he said, trying to defend himself against the blow, "If I didn't stop him, Haven would be destroyed. Thousands of fairies will be sacrificed. How could I just sit back and let that happen?"

"Hmmm," said the man, and Artemis could feel his scrutinizing gaze beneath his dark hood, "Artemis, do you know who I am?"

Artemis thought he was joking for a second. Of course he had no idea who this man was, ever since he had appeared to Artemis for the first time he had been a complete mystery. The cloaked figure, however, seemed to understand that the prodigy had no idea what he was talking about, because he then answered the question for Artemis.

"I'm your teacher. I'm the one who recognized your strength in the magic arts, strengths that only one in a million of us humans have. And, as such, I am the one who should go up against this criminal, not you, the student. You're a genius, Artemis. You should have learned your place faster."

Artemis blinked, then sighed. He was right. Forcing down his dignity, he asked a question he'd never thought he'd ask anyone but himself.

"So, what should we do now?"

The fire crackled ominously about him as the man surveyed Artemis beneath his thick cloak, apparently thinking.

"I am wondering," he said slowly, "If your friend, Minerva, could be of use."

"Minerva?" exclaimed a shocked Artemis, jerking his gaze away from the dancing flames.

"Yes," he said, trying to keep hold of his train of thought and explain things at the same time, "She could be the one I have been waiting for."

Suddenly snapping out of his daydream, he addressed the raven-haired boy in a stern voice.

"Do you remember all that I've taught you about controlling your magic in it's physical form?"

"Yes," replied Artemis, a little offended that the man could even think of him forgetting something so important, "It takes the form of a specific element, doesn't it? And I take it," he said excitedly, with a sudden, shocking realization, "That your's would be fire?"

"Correct," he said plainly. It seemed to be old news to him, "And have you made contact with the Minerva girl?"

"Wh-What?" said Artemis, startled at both the sudden topic change and how odd his words were.

"Have you touched her? Made contact? Met skin-to-skin?"

Artemis couldn't think of a reply. And really, he wasn't sure he wanted to make one.

The cloaked man sighed in a frustrated way. "Listen, we don't have any more time to talk," he snapped, "The poison is spreading through your body too quickly. If you want to live, make contact with the girl. If I'm right, she might just be able to get you out of this pinch. Your chances are extremely slim that she's the one I've been looking for, but hey? What other plans do we have?"

"Hey! Wait!" cried Artemis. He really had no idea what the man was talking about. But it was too late. The man was striding away as if he hadn't heard him, the end of his black cloak whisking away behind the flames. With the cloaked man gone, his barrier, too, left. The flames closed in on Artemis once more, burning him, scalding him so that he cried out in pain. "Wait!" he called one last time in vain. But there was no answer.

Then Artemis woke.

**Yes! I finished! I originally planned this chapter to go further than this, but it turned out much longer than I expected. Ahhh,I can't believe there's only 1 more month of summer! I don't want to go back to waking up at 6 in the morning... :( lol review please!!**


	13. Making Contact with Minerva

**Hello y'all! OK, I totally forgot to update for... umm... around five months... lol Sorry! I got caught up in school! Anyway, this next chappie is a very wierd one. A _very_ weird one. It even has the most confusing ending ever that will probably make me loose, like, a million viewers. Oh, well! Just read and try to enjoy. **

Holly paced the width of the room. She really wasn't meant to be cooped up like this.

"I'm gonna go crazy!" she snapped through her frustration.

Her and the gang had been grouped into a small room for the last ten minutes, painted totally white on all six walls. The style was clearly meant to be both futuristic and boring. There was a single peace of furniture inside it's blank walls, a twin bed clad in white sheets (figures :P). The only things that brought color into the pure white room was the four lounging humans and the one frantic, pacing elf. Since the exit had "magically" blended into the white walls after the guards lead them into the room, Holly was beginning to feel a hint of claustrophobia.

"When the mastermind agreed to us helping Artemis, I thought that we could, you know, _actually help Artemis_."

"Calm down, Holly," sighed Minerva, "Your pacing is distracting me from my thinking." She was sitting cross-legged in a corner of the room, apparently deep in thought. Holly's eye twitched.

"Thinking ain't gonna get you out of this situation, Minerva," growled the elf.

"Isn't going to," corrected the prodigy, "And you never know what an open mind can accomplish unless you try."

"I'm not so sure this time, Miss," sighed Juliet sadly, "I've been studying these kinds of situations for my whole life, and I think it's safe to say the criminal has won in this case. We should've never even entered the building, in my books."

Juliet was lying on the floor by the foot of the bed, staring straight up at the ceiling with an air of defeat. She still hadn't gotten over her grand mistake of letting the principal get shot, and currently felt like an utter failure. The defeat brought an icy hint to her tone of voice.

"What do you think, bro?"

"I think that if there is a way out of this room, we need to find it, and quick," rumbled Butler, "Artemis' fever is getting worse."

He was standing beside the bed, which, in the center, held Artemis, who was swimming in the gigantic pale sheets. The prodigy was looking paler than usual and not in a good condition at all. Butler hadn't left Artemis' side since he had been shot. He sighed.

"We really can't take any more steps forward until Artemis wakes up," Butler mused.

The whole room fell silent as everybody realized the truth of his words, glumly. Holly glanced around the room, from Juliet, spread across the floor, to the cross legged Minerva, to the ever serious Butler who stood beside the sleeping Artemis. She groaned, running her fingers through her crew cut.

"I just can't_stand_ this," she whimpered, "I need something to do!"

"Try digging a hole through the wall to the outside," snapped Minerva impatiently, still attempting to meditate, "Then you could _leave_ us in _peace_."

Holly's eye twitched in anger. No way was she gonna take that remark from a problem-causing brat like Minerva. "Well, excuse me, Miss I'm-Gonna-Tag-Along-And-Become-The-Damsel-In-Distress!" she snapped back.

Minerva gasped. "Since when have I been _tagging along_?"

"Well, you certainly haven't been a help so far," snorted Holly.

"And what of you!" hissed Minerva, her cheeks beginning to flush, "You're only good for your magic. Now that Artemis, apparently, has some, doesn't that make you _useless_?"

Holly flared up at the word "useless".

"How dare you, of all people, call me that word!" she snarled, "Why, I oughta-."

"Honestly. You two can bicker in any situation, can't you?"

The room turned. "Artemis!" Holly and Minerva gasped in unison.

The boy was sitting up in his bed-sheets. His eyes, though glazed with fever, still had a sharp look of quick wits in them. He had been awake for a while, probably since the fight began. Butler, who looked amused from the bickering girls, was helping Artemis into a sitting position.

"You woke me," he sighed, as if scolding them, "And I was having a good dream, too..."

"S-sorry," Minerva said, blushing furiously. Holly, however, felt no guilt.

"I didn't know devils had dreams," she said with a grin, the relief that Artemis was once again conscious shining unchecked through her eyes. Finally, they might have something to do!

"Artemis, how do you feel?" said Butler, ever cautious.

"Well enough. After all, I have just been poisoned."

"Hah, well, who's fault was..." Holly paused, realizing something, "Wait a minute, how did you know you were poisoned?"

The white room went silent. Everyone turned to stare at Artemis once more, for the second time in that minute.

"Yeah, that doesn't make any sense..." said Juliet suspiciously.

Artemis inwardly cursed at his carelessness. Of course he shouldn't know that he was poisoned, the cloaked man had told him that in his dream. He sighed.

"I-," he began.

"He pulled the tranquilizer out of his neck right before he passed out, remember?" explained Butler, "Juliet, you should have remembered that."

"Ah, that's right!" said Juliet in realization, "Sorry 'bout that."

Artemis was relieved, to put it in short. He had nearly blown the cloaked man's cover, and had just made a very narrow escape indeed. An escape that, if he was his old, sly self, he would have never needed to make in the first place. But then again, Artemis seemed to live off of very narrow escapes, so this was really no big deal. What was important, however, was what the cloaked man had said.

_Make contact with Minerva,_ Artemis wondered,_ What he said makes no sense..._

He snapped back to reality, and was shocked to find that Holly had just asked him a question, and seemed to be expecting an answer.

He blinked. "Sorry? I wasn't listening."

Holly sighed and rolled her eyes. "I said, what should we do now?" repeated the short, auburn-haired figure, "We need to think up a plan before your condition gets much worse. I was hoping you'd have some ideas."

Artemis thought. "I do have a theory," he murmured, speaking about the cloaked man's idea, "But I can't explain it to you. You'd think I'm crazy."

Holly raised and eyebrow. "If it's a plan you've made, and you think we'd think that it's crazy, I'm not going through with it, Fowl. We've had enough crazy plans today."

Artemis groaned inwardly, knowing that they would, in fact, think his plan was crazy if they heard it. Especially considering his plan, in all of it's context, was for him to touch Minerva.

Oh, yeah, Holly would totally go for that plan.

Yet, try as he might, Artemis realized that this plan was his only hope, if it was a plan at all. He could think of no other ideas, and he had trusted the cloaked man so far. Why not trust him a bit longer? There was something about that man that Artemis could trust, that he would believe pretty much anything from. What that was, Artemis wasn't sure, which worried the ever-serious boy a bit. But Artemis decided not to think about it just then, as it wasn't the problem he should have been concentrating on. The problem was how he would go about touching Minerva, without anyone thinking he was a perverted freak.

_Specifically Minerva herself,_ thought Artemis subconsciously, then twitched.

_Wait, **not** specifically Minerva, forget that thought,_ Artemis scolded himself, _No time for puppy love now. I've got about ten minutes before I go into a life-long sleep. Focus. Try to think up one more idea before making yourself look like a pervert with your teacher's plan._

He inhaled, exhaled, then slid into his meditative mode almost automatically. It was actually a relief. The aches and chills the poison gave him melted out of existence, and his pounding headache slowly faded away.

"Hello?!" said Holly impatiently, still waiting for Artemis to explain his plan.

Butler shushed her, recognizing Artemis' thinking pose. He leaned against the white-painted wall, worriedly scanning over the young prodigy. The more he thought about it, the more ashamed he realized Madame Ko would be. He had gotten so used to the idea that Artemis could think his way out of any situation, with the help of his trusty bodyguard. The boy had traveled through time, for Pete's sake! Yet this situation made Butler realize that the boy was only just that: a boy. He could die at any moment, just like anyone else. Butler should have remembered that, considering it had been pounded viciously into his head at the Butler's training academy, but fifteen years of lethal adventures seemed to have set his common sense askew. He would remember it now, though, now that the boy looked as white as the sheets surrounding him, and could barely stay awake through his fever.

Meanwhile, Artemis continued to do his two-minute final run-through of ideas. He was down to the simplest, most primitive ideas he could think of (_**A/N: lol just cause I couldn't think up any good ideas, if you hadn't guessed. I'm not that smart, lol... :P)**_.

Breaking a whole through a wall? No. They were in the middle of the fortress, the robotic guards would surely find them.

Digging through the ground? No, the hard, Irish rocks underneath would stop them going very far.

Through the ceiling? No, Holly's wings (and all of her equipment, for that matter) had been shut down from the power outage.

No.

No.

No.

No.

Artemis heaved a sigh. Just as he had expected, none of his ideas would work. He slowly, unwillingly, brought himself back into consciousness. A wave of sickness hit him like a tsunami, far worse than it had been two minutes before. He shuddered and rested his head on his knees, a vain act of trying to ease the pain. He clung at his hair, trying to calm his shaking arms. The room reacted instantly.

"Artemis!" said a concerned Butler, who then crouched down to the child's height. His doubt in the situation heightened. "The poison's gotten worse, hasn't it?"

Juliet leaped to her feet, clasping her hands in worry, and feeling more guilty than the time she accidentally set her older brother's closet, filled with designer black suits, on fire. "I'm so sorry, Artemis! It's all my fault you're in this state-!"

"It isn't, Juliet! Quit blaming yourself!" snapped Holly in anger. Juliet consented, but accommodated by running to her brother's side. Holly was feeling very touchy- she had never seen Artemis in a state of pain this bad before, and it certainly didn't make her feel good.

And Minerva? Having gone through the past three years with the prodigy as her idol, seeing Artemis this helpless scared her. She was staring at the boy with large, shocked baby blue eyes, (_**A/N: Nobody really knows what color her eyes are, and I love baby blue eyes, soooo... they're gonna be baby blue for now :D**_) and held one delicate, gloved hand to her mouth.

Artemis took deep breaths, and the pain went down to a tolerable point. Slowly, he raised his head.

"Sorry," he sighed to the room, his eyes scanning from one worried friend to the next, "I just needed a second to... collect myself."

That was just about the least convincing excuse the Fowl had ever given. But he gave himself a break since his brain was being slowly fried from the fever. He cleared his throat.

"I- the plan..." he sighed. He needed to tell them at some point, "I..."

"You don't have a plan, do you?"

Artemis blinked. It was Minerva who had spoken. She put her gloved hands to her mouth again, as if she was trying to stop the words, but was too late.

"I mean, I don't really know, I just hoped- . No, I didn't hope, really, I just..." she bit her lip. Her face was tinted with blush, and she was staring down at her feet.

"You were hoping that I couldn't think up something you couldn't," realized Artemis. Minerva took in a deep breath, and brought her eyes off her feet to meet Artemis' squarely.

"I'm sorry," she whispered, her hands still at her mouth. The pale white of her gloves contrasted to her pink lips prettily, or so Artemis thought (subconsciously, again).

And suddenly, it hit Artemis. He knew what "making contact" meant. Just like that. And the answer was so simple, he knew why the cloaked man thought it probably wouldn't work.

"Minerva, when did you get those gloves?"

"These?" said Minerva, shocked at the sudden change in topic, "These were my grandmother's. She gave them to me, telling me that these would complete my image as a lady. Since then, I've always had to wear them, no matter what. _C'est une grande tradition pour la famille de Paradizo._" She looked up, and found everyone in the room staring at her. She rolled her eyes, "It's a Paradizo tradition." She took them off and held them fondly, as if the two embroidered accessories would help them get out of the metal fortress. She looked up from the white gloves to Artemis, and was surprised to find the ill teen looking pleased.

"Artemis, what are you doing?"

The prodigy was moving his legs over the bedside, looking as though he had the full intention of getting up.

"You mustn't move!" scolded Butler, "Not in your condition!"

But Artemis was ignoring him. He took deep breaths to calm his spinning head. Inhaling one last time, he laid his weight on his feet and stood.

"Hah," breathed Artemis triumphantly. He had made it. Any other situation, if Artemis had that much trouble getting out of bed, he would consider it extremely pitiful.

But the victory didn't last long. His weak, shaking legs gave out quickly. Juliet and Butler, with lightning-fast, trained reflexes, caught him.

"Jesus, Artemis!" cried Juliet, "What're you thinking?"

"If we're to ever get out of here," the boy muttered an excuse, "In the least, I should be able to walk."

"We shouldn't even be saying 'if', at this point," groaned Holly, "It's looking pretty grim, to me."

"I say 'if' because I mean 'if'," said Artemis in a short voice, "And, just for the record, I do, indeed, have a plan, Minerva. Trust me."

Trust the boy who had gotten them into this mess. Trust the boy who was keeping plans secret from them. Trust the boy who could barely walk. Trust the boy who was, in fact, fairy world's greatest enemy at one point. Holly had to think about this. Minerva, however, had a lovesick glint in her eye. The curly haired girl bit her lip.

"You're sure the plan will work?"she said tentatively.

"Yes," said Artemis, who was being helped to stand again by the two Butlers, "More sure than with any other plan I've tried to think up in the last ten minutes."

Minerva sighed. Any other person, she would have refused point blank to go through with their plan. Yet this wasn't any other person, was it? This was a boy genius who probably had a greater mind than even hers. She looked down, trying to think through the situation properly.

"We'll stand by whatever plan you have, as always" said Juliet, referring, of course, to Butler, as well.

"Thank you," nodded Artemis. He then turned to stare at Minerva. He could tell the girl was having difficulty deciding. He sighed.

"Minerva, please, just trust me." Okay. This was definitely a low day for the boy. Artemis Fowl did not do begging.

"I don't know," she said, unsure.

"I'll bet my life that this plan will work," Artemis said, putting his hand out purposefully, for her to shake.

Minerva finally looked up, realizing the humor in the Fowl's words. A hint of a smile came to her lips.

"Alright," she agreed, "I'll trust that you have a good plan."

She put her hand out, still un-gloved, and shook Artemis'. Their skin touched completely, hand to hand. Cell to cell. Life to life.

Artemis had made contact.

He had done it, finally. He had never actually touched Minerva before; clothing had always been in the way. Every single time they touched, cloth was between their skin, from the day Artemis rescued her from Billy Kong, to the ice skating rink. He stared at Minerva, slowly retrieving his hand. Had it worked? Had he done it? He didn't take his eyes off of her, waiting. Minerva just stood there, her head lowered slightly, her eyes hidden by her bangs.

"Hey!" said Holly, looking from one teen to the other, "What am I, chopped liver? I'm not so sure I'll agree to this mission, you know, Fowl."

Neither of the kids moved. They stayed as still as stone, Minerva's head still down and Artemis still staring straight at her.

"H-hey," said Holly uneasily, "What's up? This isn't some kind of tender moment that only you geniuses understand, or something, is it?"

Nothing happened. Juliet looked freaked out and curious at the same time. Butler, used to strange things happening around Fowls, simply set the boy down on the mattress once more and waited for some kind of explanation to their strange behavior. Finally, one of the two children moved.

"Artemis," whispered Minerva, "What just happened?"

"What do you mean, what just happened?" said Holly, now praying to the gods that it wasn't just a tender moment the two genii understood.

"You-you feel something different?" said Artemis, his face lighting up with hope that his assumption was correct.

Slowly but surely, silently assuring Artemis' guesses, Minerva bobbed her head up and down. A nod of agreement.

Artemis' heart began to beat faster. He had done it. He was now nearly a hundred percent sure he had done it. "What is it?" he stammered impatiently, "What do you feel?"

There was a silence as everyone else in the room tried to comprehend what was occurring between the two prodigies before them, why the heck Artemis would want to know what Minerva felt for, and what could have possibly happened within a simple handshake to cause all this.

Minerva finally looked up from her feet, and Artemis could see the dazed, dreamy look in her eyes that could only result from a harsh mix of shock and wonder. "I feel something... indescribable. Something that is- that could only be- a new sense in itself."

"What in the seven Hells are you talking about, Minerva?" Holly said.

"I know what she is talking about," chuckled Artemis triumphantly, "And it makes full sense to me."

"Full sense?" cried Holly, shocked, "Since when has anything ever made full sense around you, Fowl?"

"I'm a bit confused too, Sir," admitted Butler, who had been eying the scene from the sidelines.

The black-haired prodigy glanced around the room at the three confused comrades, as if trying to make a decision. He finally sighed, apparently giving in to some mysterious choice. "Alright. I think you have a right to know what's going on, especially since you're in this mess with us," said Artemis.

"You're the one who got us into 'this mess' in the first place," muttered Holly bitterly, so that Artemis couldn't hear.

Artemis hesitated once more, worrying about what his teacher would think if he told just three more people about his plan_. They need to know, _thought Artemis, trying to be reasonable, _They have no chance of getting out of here if they have no idea what's going on in their own plan. _He closed his eyes. _Here goes_, he thought.

"It seems that Minerva has received..." said Artemis slowly, dramatically.

"What?" said Juliet curiously, having recognized the seriousness in the situation, "She's received something? When? What has she gotten?"

"Just now," Artemis continued painfully, bracing himself for their reaction, "Minerva has received...

...magic."

* * *

**... Hah! I betcha that was confusing. I also think that some of you might be ready to murder me from the cliffhangers. Oh, well. Next chapter's gonna be an eventful one! I guarantee you it will reveal something about the mysterious evil mastermind... Actually, something about one of his henchman... anyway, stick with me, even though this chapter was a bit... strange... lol R&R pleeze! XD**

* * *


	14. This is Madness!

**Um, I'll keep these beginning thingies short this time :) Sorry about the uploading wait, I kinda stink with uploading quickly. The chappie title was kinda inspired by my bro's annoying obsession of 300... u get it if u've seen it ;)... Oh, yeah! A character is gonna be intoduced in this chapter, and if your confused at who he is, be sure to read my ending note for help:D Ummmmm... What else... I dunno. I guess I'll just end here before you get bored of reading this, if you haven't already gotten bored of reading this :P **

Minerva didn't have the slightest idea where she was. She felt a vague happiness at the fact that she and Artemis had touched, hand to hand, for the first time, but it was fading quickly in the new environment. Did she pass out? My God, that would be horrible, if she fainted just from holding Artemis' hand, if it was even considered "holding Artemis' hand". She'd probably loose consciousness when she woke up, out of embarrassment, as well. Goody.

But no, it wasn't just her conscience. There was something else there, with her. She turned.

There was a light. No, it wasn't a light, really, it was more of a….. a thing. Ooh, real scientific term there. Thing. 15 years of genius and that was the best she could come up with. Minerva drew closer to the…. Oh, she just couldn't say "thing". It was far too infantile! Would "being" do? Well, it was certainly better. "Being" would do. Minerva drew closer to the "being".

She was awed by the beauty of the being. A range of colors dazzled at her in a magnificent array. Emerald, jade, olive, lime, chartreuse… They all shined at her, a million shades of _vert_, as she would call it. A million shades of green.

It was probably the most beautiful thing Minerva had ever seen.

Hah, a rhyme. Green, seen. When had she developed a sense of humor? No, no, she should _focus_. Focus on the shining being.

Minerva took another step toward it. Now, she could merely lift her arm and she would touch it. She could, but she was torn.

With half of her, she had the strongest desire she had ever had. A craving so bad, it struck her very soul. She wanted, no, she _needed_ to touch the being, more than she'd needed to have anything in her life before. She could just lift her arm and touch it, and her greatest desire, her grandest dream, would be granted. But, -

-The other half of Minerva was stopping her. This half was telling her to run. Run, run far, far away from that being. Run until she couldn't run anymore. Regain consciousness, even, just stay away from the light! (Hah. Another joke.) It she touched it, she would regret it. She would get hurt. She would _die_. She should never, ever touch the shiny, green being!

She struggled for a moment between her two urges. Then, she shrugged. Well, she had never been good with temptations. She touched it.

It was like nothing she had ever felt before. It was heartbreakingly beautiful, yet hideously ugly. It was overwhelming, yet she barely felt it. It was painful, yet a pleasing sensation. It was everything, even life _itself_, yet barely enough to be considered "something".

Minerva was amazed.

She embraced the being- no, it was no longer a separate being, it was a part of her, a "sense" of hers, so to speak- and let it's miraculous powers flow through her until it filled her entirely, body and soul.

It was then that she first heard the voices.

There were thousands, millions, billions of them: voices crying out in happiness, sadness and indifference alike. Some were asking for help, some giving thanks, some screaming, and some whispering. They all seemed to be in a different language, yet somehow Minerva understood them, as if she were a universal translator. There were so many that, under normal circumstances, Minerva would have gone mad with the noise. With this new sense, however, the billions of voices sounded like a symphony to her, like the most beautiful music she had ever had the fortune to hear.

She decided to listen to a few individually, the ones that were closest to her body. One, she could hear, only spoke about finding food and reproducing. Minerva could sense what species it was, too. It was a single bacterium, crawling about through the air. And, Minerva then found, there were million around him, as well. It was a normal occurrence, Minerva decided. She knew that bacteria were everywhere; it was no surprise to her. What was a surprise was that the voices she heard were the voices of actual living things: genuine, live creatures.

Man, this sense was something else, to give her such a gift. She could barley believe it. She was actually doing what every female, as a child, had always wanted to do: she could communicate, could _talk_, to animals! How typical.

She decided to listen to another animal, eager to see what it would say. What she heard this time, however, was a shock.

"What's up? This isn't some kind of tender moment that only you geniuses understand, or something, is it?" said the sharp, sarcastic voice of a young female elf. Minerva recognized the voice with a jolt. It was Holly. Well, _that _was unexpected.

The shock jolted Minerva, destroying her concentration. The newfound sense of hers slipped away, and she could slowly feel herself regaining consciousness. The voices became inaudible once more, as she lost control of the sense. Minerva panicked. She wanted to explore this sense more! She fought to stay unconscious.

_What is it? _She thought wildly, _What happened to me? What just happened?_

But her last words were actually spoken in her urgency. Minerva was too late: she had awakened.

* * *

"What do you mean, Minerva has magic?!" cried Holly. 

The whole room stood in a stunned silence at Artemis' words. Well, nearly the whole room.

"I mean," continued Holly in her confused rage, "I just got over you getting your magic, Artemis, and now you're trying to tell me Minerva has some, as well?"

"Yes," nodded Artemis in a patient way, despite his pounding head, "Somehow, the contact between her and I when we shook hands triggered a reaction within her, which caused her to discover this gift, in turn. Don't ask me how, it's just a simple hypothesis I made up on the moment."

"But _why_?" said a shocked Juliet, "I mean, you travel throughout space and time to get your magic, and then, _pow, _Minerva suddenly gets some from a handshake?! That just doesn't make sense!"

"You're asking to make sense out of magic," grumbled Butler, "That in itself is a bit odd."

"How do we even _know_ that Minerva has magic?" snapped Holly, "I mean, she could have just chosen that time to loose her sanity, for all we know. I was expecting that to happen eventually, why not now?"

Minerva's head seemed to be clearing a bit, and her eyes were loosing their dreamy glaze. She chose that time to speak

"Is that what it is?" she murmured, "Magic? ... Well, that fits, I suppose. It would explain the voices I heard in my head."

Holly gaped at Minerva for a moment, then snapped her gaze back to Artemis, saying simply, "I rest my case."

Artemis blinked. "Voices? What kind of voices?"

Minerva sighed, as if thinking of a fond memory. "The voices of thousands of creatures and animals, of all kinds. It's a wonderful thing to listen to altogether. Almost like an orchestra of living beings."

"You mean, you can communicate with… with animals?" said Artemis, cocking his head. Then it struck him. "Ah! That must be your element! Instead of fire, you deal with _living beings_. A kind of wild magic. Wondrous!"

Not even Butler could pretend to make logic of this. "Element?" he said.

"Yes," nodded Artemis, but he stopped when his head spun horribly, "I'll explain it to you later. I'll explain this _all _to you later. But for now," he turned to Minerva, "May you do me a favor, Ms. Paradizo? Try to find that magic again."

Minerva thought about it for a moment, then nodded. "I could try."

"Just close your eyes and block out all other senses, all other distractions," guided Artemis, "You should find your magic there."

Minerva did as he told, inhaling and exhaling deeply as she did so. It was very calming, actually. She struggled to disclose all other senses. It was hard: she could feel the chill of fear at being trapped in the room, she was distracted by the itchy lace on her fancy dress, and she had trouble blocking out the confused, muttered curses of the auburn-haired fairy in the other corner of the room. It took a minute, but then she found it once more. The same beautiful orb that was her magic.

"What now?" she whispered, afraid to loose it as she had done before.

"Now use it," said Artemis, carefully keeping the excitement out of his voice.

Minerva hesitated again, but then embraced the emerald light once more, feeling the familiar, terrible sense that she had felt just a few minutes before. The voices returned, and this time, Minerva did more than listen to them. She explored.

She traveled past the room, far outside the fortress, to other continents, and even under them, to the hiding People below. It was as if she was traveling in a kind of spirit form, while her body remained in place. Listening to the immense variety of languages, she found it not difficult to pick a single being out of the vast roar and hear its individual story. Here was a small dandelion, growing under the warm sun of the UK. There, a powerful elephant bathed in a large mud patch after walking all day through the African plains. Another animal, a spoiled terrier in a small American family, sneakily digging through the kitchen's garbage can for scraps while its owners were out. The animals were countless, and Minerva delighted in listening to each and every story as she explored. She lost track of where she was; she was lost in a maze of wonderful and fascinating stories, and she wasn't sure that she cared if she could find her way back.

Then, suddenly, she found something that made her ecstatic with joy. With this, their problems could be solved; they might all make it out of the fortress alive! Minerva was awed by her luck. She had found a single seed, nestled secretly in the bark that was broken off of a tree long dead, in the study of a malevolent prodigy that was currently busy observing his prisoners, in a separate room. The seed was sleeping, as it had been for a long, long time, waiting to be awakened by the spring that would never come.

_Is it possible?_ Though Minerva, _If I can understand it, I should be able to talk to it, as well, right? And if I can talk to it, I should be able to convince it to do things…_

It was worth a try. She concentrated on the being, and, without realizing she was doing it, she dug out a bit more of her magic.

_Little seed, can you hear me?_ She… was she speaking? Well, there was no other way to put it. No-one else had communicated to plants before, as far as she knew.

She was even more shocked when she got an answer._ Yes? Is it Spring yet?_ the being answered in a sleepy, slurred voice, _Otherwise, I'm going back to sleep._

Minerva gaped for a moment, then reacted when she finally processed what it had said. _No! No, it is Spring! Don't go back to sleep! _she panicked, _It's time to grow, not rest. You should grow! _

_Grow? _said the seed lazily, _How? There is no soil, no water, no sun: nothing that I can use to sprout! Are you __**positive**__ it's Spring?_

_Yes-I-am-positive-it's-Spring! _hissed Minerva, loosing her temper. She was speaking to an inanimate object, for Pete's sake! _And you must grow! My friend needs your help, lest he die from poison. You need to grow to us, so he can take your bark!_

_That's not good, about your friend dying, _replied the seed.

_No, it isn't,_ snapped Minerva impatiently, _So, would you __**please**__ grow for me?_

_Sure. But how?_

Minerva cursed. This was going to be more difficult than she thought. Not to mention that the seed itself was annoying the heck out of her. She tried to think of something to feed the seed. She was so close to a cure for Artemis, she couldn't give up now! Even if it seemed impossible…

_Um, miss?_ said the seed, _May I suggest something?_

_If you say, "Could I go back to sleep?" you're going to regret it, _said Minerva.

_No,_ it replied, sounding insulted, _I was going to ask to eat some of that yummy green stuff you've got. _

Yummy green stuff? Since when did Minerva have any "yummy green stuff"? Then it clicked.

_My __**magic**__? You want some of my __**magic**?_

_Yes! _cried the seed, _It looks so good, I bet it could feed my hunger __**and **__give me enough energy to grow to you! We'll both get what we want. Please, could I have some?_

Minerva pondered. Could it work? Well, she had gotten this far with this craziness. She bit her imaginary lip.

_I did say "Please", _coaxed the seed hopefully.

_Fine, _Minerva sighed. Then, taking a bit of her emerald, shining light that looked so "yummy", her spirit-self reached out and touched the light to the seedling's body. The seed sucked it in greedily.

_Mmmmm…_ it purred happily, _This food is wonderful! Where did you get it?_

Minerva ignored him. _Do you have enough energy to grow now? _she asked worriedly.

_Are you kidding? I could grow to Mars if need be! That stuff's amazing! _giggled the seedling, _Where d' you want me to go?_

_Ah, _stammered Minerva. How would she work this? _Can… Can you follow me?_

_Certainly, _replied the seedling, _Guide the way._

And Minerva did.

* * *

Everyone in the small, white room watched Minerva with a careful intent. She kept breathing evenly, and did not move from her standing position, but every once in a while her face twitched in what everyone could have sworn was annoyance. But how could it be? 

Holly was loosing whatever patience she had left. "This is _useless_!" she cried, "Minerva doesn't have magic! Humans don't just _get _magic! She's gone crazy, and we've gone crazy, as well, for believing her!"

"Patience, Holly," said Artemis in a weak voice.

Holly blinked. "Patience? Do you even have enough _strength_ for patience? You've got about five minutes before you die from that poison. It's _you_ who should be panicking."

Artemis ignored her. He closed his eyes for a moment, letting himself rest while he waited. _If she can speak with animals, or living beings, due to her magic,_ he thought, _then she should be able to manipulate them, as well. And God knows how good she is at manipulating. I'm curious to see what she'll do._

"I'm not so sure you're looking too good, either, Arty," said Juliet observantly, "Are you positive that we should trust Minerva on this one?"

"In Frond's name, we're back to where we started," realized Holly, "We began waiting for Artemis to wake up and think of a plan, now we're stuck waiting on Miss Paradizo to wake up here! We're never gonna get out of this God-forsaken -!"

Two things happened at once that cut off Holly's words. First, Minerva snapped out of her trance-like state, looking triumphant. Second, a rumbling sound began from beneath their feet, growing louder and louder by the second.

"I did it!" cried Minerva happily, "Artemis, we're saved!"

"Saved?" squeaked Juliet, jumping to her feet as the ground began to vibrate voilently.

"What's going on?" growled Butler, getting ready to leap in between Artemis and the mysterious foe if need be. The rumbling was now deafening, more like a roar. Suddenly, the floor beneath Holly split with a crack like a gun. Holly jumped away in alarm, and with such a look of horror on her face that it would have been comical in another situation.

"What the -!" she hissed, but she hadn't seen the worst of it yet.

A giant branch, complete with large, stringing leaves, sprouted out of the split in the floor, growing at an alarmingly rapid rate until it barely touched the ceiling, then…

It stopped.

There was a moment of immense silence, where only a few sounds could be hears. There was the panting breaths of the alarmed group. A few pieces of rubble rolled down the bent floor. A string of leaves rustled.

"What….. is that?" whispered Juliet in shock.

"That," said Minerva, "Is a branch of the magnificent Black Willow tree, in all it's glory."

"Wh-What?" said Butler, who found that even he was speechless.

"I used my magic to awaken a Black Willow seed from a seed, and gave it some of my power so it would grow," explained Minerva simply. Everyone else stared as though she had lost her marbles for the second time in about five minutes.

"A Black Willow, huh?" said Artemis, using Butler's muscle-filled arm as a railing to stand, "Well, Minerva, I'd have to say. You've exceeded my expectations." But standing proved to be a mistake in his condition. Artemis' body couldn't take it. His world whirled around him terribly, and he closed his eyes briefly, hoping it would stop. It didn't. Darkness began eating at his vision.

"Just…. Just in time, too…"

"Artemis?" said Butler, grabbing the raven-haired boy to support him. Butler looked up at the gigantic, mysterious plant, back at his Principle, then said, "I don't care how it got here, or if it really is a Black Willow. It's our only hope. Give it to him."

Minerva nodded, and, being the only one not completely immobilized from confusion, hurriedly obeyed, taking a small piece of the bark. It came off of the trunk surprisingly smoothly, almost like peeling an orange. The small, black chunk that Minerva obtained was thick and coated in some naturally-made oily substance, and the underside was covered in an odd syrup that smelled slightly sour. Minerva tried not to imagine how it would taste. She thanked the tree mentally, and almost thought she heard a small reply:

_No prob, Yummy-Green-Girl._

She ignored it.

The female prodigy then strode over to Artemis. Realizing that she would probably cherish this moment at a later, less deadly time, she lifted Artemis' chin tenderly and let him take a small bite of the unappitizing cure, then stepped back and looked away. She couldn't stand seeing people throw up, and from th way the bark she gave Artemis looked, he probably was going to.

However, Artemis found that the medicine really wasn't that bad. In fact, it was heavenly. As soon as the rough bark touched his tounge, a taste unlike anything he'd had before spread throughout his mouth. It was a pleasant mix between apples and oranges, a magnificent sweetness that hadn't been tasted by anyone else for hundreds of years. The bark soon lost it's rough cover and dissolved into a texture not unlike the simple smoothness of a candy bar. Artemis crunched into it eagerly, swallowing the whole piece without even bothering to savor it. Instantly, a pleasant, energizing warmth spread throughout this body. He shivered in pleasure: the medicine was instant relief, and his strength returned with a shock. His headache, his uneasy stomach, his weak body, his fever: they all mercifully slid into unexistance. Artemis nearly laughed in joy, but resisted after considering how much of his dignity he had already lost that day.

Against all odds, Artemis Fowl had defied death once again.

* * *

_Impossible, _thought the mysterious teenage criminal, _There is no way that Fowl has wormed his way out of this case._

_There is no way that Artemis Fowl II managed to actually find a way out of my plan!_

Yet, as sad as it was, the mysterious mastermind found it to be true. He was sitting in the surveilence room, where all lights were turned off so that the screens could be better viewed. The only light was the eerie blue of the videos glowing and flashing a few feet into the darkness. The screen that the boy focused on was showing the room where the prisoners resided: there were the two Butlers, the fairy, the proud girl, the healed boy, and the mass of leaves where the Black Willow suddenly appeared and blocked part of the camera's view.

The mysterious prodigy saw it all happen, and it seemed that he understood the event completely, as well. The boy's face was hidden in shadow. He casually leaned back in his chair, resting his feet on the sill of the TV screens; it looked as if he was trying to push the feat off as nothing.

"Ah, well," he sighed out loud, seemingly to himself, "At least I was right about that girl. I _knew_ Artemis wouldn't be able to resist giving her magic... She's a genius, after all."

"Could he truly choose to give her such a thing, as long as her mind is capable enough?" said a voice, a deep, rumbling voice that one could mistake for thunder, of a man disguised completely by the shadows of the room.

"I'm not entirely sure, it's just a guess I made that appears to be correct," said the prodigy in a sly tone, "But that's not what matters now. What matters is that I finally have clear-cut proof of what the Fowl's done to me."

"You mean, of _one _of the things he's done to you," pointed out the deep-voiced man, "Did you not clearly state that you had _three_ specific reasons to hate Master Fowl?"

The boy's foot twitched in a wince. "I told you not to call him 'Master'," said the prodigy in a voice that sounded annoyed.

"My mistake, sir," said the man, "Bad habit."

"And besides," continued the mastermind, "I didn't tell Artemis that I had three specific reasons. I only clearly stated to _you_, my accomplice, that I had three different grounds on why I detest that Fowl."

He glanced back once more at the screen. His enemy looked pleased, while the fairy looked shocked, and the Paradizo girl beamed in happiness. The Butlers seemed to be recovering from shock quickly, and Juliet, who seemed to have abandoned the hope of having things explained to her, jumped around in the joy of realizing she had not killed a Fowl. Butler professionally hid his emotions and assessed the boy for more injuries.

"Hmm," said the evil genius while scanning this happy scene, "What shall we do next, do you think?"

The deep-voiced accomplice didn't answer. It seemed that the prodigy wasn't expecting a reply, however, because he continued.

"I think it's time that I have a one-on-one chat with Artemis, don't you?" said the boy. Then, another idea struck him. "That would give you a chance to have a nice reunion with Juliet and the other Butler, wouldn't it?"

There was a silence. Then, "Who said I needed a reunion?" the man mumbled in a voice so deep it sounded like a lion growling.

"Come now, they needed to find out that you're still alive at some point," said the boy, amused, "Why not now? Didn't you say that the larger of those two was like a son to you, at some point? Father's don't abandon their children."

"I'm _not_ their _father_," the man snarled.

"But your not far from it, either," said the prodigy, amused, "In fact, being such a figure, you could teach them a bit about combat. You know, show them how meager their fighting skills really are, compared to yours. It would be fun."

"... Fun..." said the man, apparently restraining himself.

"Oh, calm down, I'm just teasing you," said the boy, "But I still would like you to stall those two manservants. And, if you can, hold off that sly little fairy, as well. I just don't want them to interfere when I talk to the Fowl. Understood?"

The man was silent. It seemed clear that he didn't want to do what the teen was ordering him to do.

"Remember our agreement," said the boy, noticing his hesitation, "Remember what you owe me."

"...Fine," said the man simply, then headed toward the door, about to exit the surveilance room. He paused when reaching for the doornob. "You know..." he rumbled thoughtfully, "This will be the first time I've talked to them in eight years. Eight years. Ever since the Fowl Star was attacked..."

He opened the door after hearing the boy's reply.

"But you aren't nervous, are you? After all, you're the Major."

The man sighed in a weary kind of agreement. He opened the door, and the light from the outside showed his shadowed silhouette destinctly: He was a giant; with burly muscles and humongous, ham-like hands that would make even a troll think twice. He was, perhaps, even larger and stronger than Artemis' manservant was. He was huge. He was terrifying.

And, unknown to anyone else in the building besides the criminal and he, he was a Butler.

**Woot! Chappies done! You have no idea what an effort it took for me to get my lazy butt on the computer and write this... lol :P OK, if your confused at who the Mastermind's little accomplice it, Wikipedia "Artemis Fowl I" and look at who his bodyguard was. Yeah. Pretty sweet. Anyway, hope you enjoyed it! R&R, pleeze:D**


	15. Butler meets Butler

**I'll keep this A/N thingy short today... Sorry, sorry, sorry it took so long to update!! By now you should know how much I suck at this... Well, at least this chappie's a decent length... lol. I'll have to get into a routine for writing this, or else I'll be murdered in my sleep O.o... Ok, the punishment may be not that severe, but still!! ... Just enjoy the chapter...**

"That's just not possible!" cried Holly desperately, "You were just dying! I saw you standing there, ready to pass out, and now you're... This just isn't possible!"

Artemis' eyes glinted devilishly, hiding his amusement. "It's not impossible," he stated, "Just highly improbable."

"No. It's impossible," said Holly stubbornly, "You being cured is impossible. A giant fortress, un-noticed by Foaly's satellites and filled with countless humanoid machines, is impossible. Minerva having _magic_, for God's sake, is _impossible._"

"Holly, you've known Artemis for three years now," rumbled Butler, "You should know better than 'impossible'."

"But the Minerva-with-magic thing was new," pointed out Juliet with a cheerful air. Juliet was used to the unusual going-ons in a Fowl's life. She officially made the vow not to be phased by Artemis' plans when she was introduced to a fairy named Holly Short. _A fairy, _she had thought, _Imagine that._

Only now it went more like, _A French chick who can summon ancient trees at will. Imagine that._

Holly took deep breaths, bit her lip, and resided herself to a calm state that all soldiers were required to learn back at the LEP academy. Better than going mad, the instructors had explained. Holly now understood them.

"OK," she said, more to herself than to the residents of the room, "So. Updating the situation. Minerva has some weird tree magic. Artemis is no longer in mortal danger. We're stuck in a giant metal maze and, as far as I know, don't have a shot in heck of getting out. What now?"

"Now..." said Artemis, hand resting thoughtfully on his chin, "Now, we should expect to have some sort of retaliation from our mysterious host."

"Huh?" said Juliet ever-so-intelligently.

"He wouldn't leave us unsupervised," explained Artemis, shaking his head in a disdainful manner, "From what I can decipher, he poisoned me to test my strength. He's probably in an observing room, watching us from a secret camera and trying to figure out what just happened with Minerva."

"You mean," said Holly, "he probably didn't poison you to kill you?"

"If he wanted to kill Artemis, I'm pretty sure Artemis would be dead already," said Butler, "He's had every chance in the world to finish him."

"I dunno, buddy," said Juliet, "He does sound like he might be the sick type who would toy with people before killin' 'em."

"Whatever personality he is, it makes little difference for the next step. He'll either leave us locked up in this room until we starve, or confront us," said the black-haired genius. He then strode across the room and sat down in a corner, attempting to get comfortable. "Either way, it's best for us to wait for him. Or, at least until I can think up a reasonable plan."

"Wait?!" said Holly in a pitiful tone, "Why wait? Please no more waiting. I might go mad." She paused. "Hang on, what was that bit about starving?"

"You could help me experiment with my magic," Minerva offered in a hopeful tone, ignoring the last part of Holly's sentence. She had an extremely curious kind of fear for her new talent, and was eager to test it out some more.

Holly gave her a look that clearly didn't mean yes.

Minerva huffed in an affronted kind of way, and tried to sit down as gracefully as possible five feet away from Artemis. She hoped he would notice. Butler rested, cross-legged in a meditative state. Juliet twitched and fidgeted nervously; she didn't like this "waiting" business.

It took about ten minutes. Small attempts at conversation were made, but were quickly abandoned to failure. Holly began practicing various fighting stances, more for comfort than for the need to go over them, and Minerva was tentatively healing various bruises that were obtained from her captivity, on her body. It shocked her at first that she could do such a thing, but then she realized that she wasn't "healing"- she was merely calling upon blood cells to work on various things quicker than they usually would. She stopped, realizing that the procedure used too much energy, and thinking that she should save her energy for later. Still, Minerva was extremely grateful that she received this magic. Truth be told, she just felt useless to Artemis without it. And God forbid that she should be a burden to Artemis... (**A/N: catch the sarcasm? lol**)

Juliet was going to scream out of boredom and pressure. Out of all the members of the group, it was safe to say that she was probably the most normal. Well, besides the pro-wrestling and the deadly bodyguard business and the record-breaking judo skills. She was just an average teen, eager to gossip and date and preen and shop. Waiting for an oncoming doom in a terrifying, giant death trap was not among her list of "average things a teen would love to do", surprisingly enough. So she pouted. And fidgeted. And grumbled. And ignored the subtle, warning glares that her brother was giving her under his lowered eyes.

In her mind, waiting sucked.

Luckily enough for her, the waiting didn't last much longer.

The change was noticed first by Butler, who, as a part of his meditation, was listening intensely to the silence in his surroundings. And, just as he listened to the silence, he immediately noticed the absence of it. He automatically tensed up, and adjusted his head with a jerk so that he could better hear the faint noise that disturbed this peace. It was a steady, thudding beat, as light as a drizzle of rain at this point, yet steadily getting louder every second. He recognized this noise. With a jerk, he stood to his feet.

"Huh?" gasped Holly, tottering halfway through a complicated kick, yet lightly catching herself on her feet.

"What is it?" said Artemis, eyes flashing in disguised alarm.

"Shhh," Butler hushed, then listened once more. Sure enough, they were there. And he was almost sure that they were heading toward the small, white room.

"Footsteps," Butler growled.

Soon the whole group, now alert and silent, could hear them, pounding on near the western wall of the room. At least, they assumed it was the western wall.

Holly's delicate, elven ears twitched in judgment.

"Six, maybe seven men?" she judged, "Most of them have the same footstep pattern, too- the same stride lengths."

"Guards," determined Artemis, "They'll be programmed to have the same walking speeds."

"But you said 'most'," pointed out Minerva, "So does that mean they all aren't just guards?"

Yet Minerva was violently shushed again, and would have gone to pout in a corner had she not been eager to listen, as well.

Suddenly, there were voices. Muffled, yet they were still there. Or, to be more precise, one voice- a voice so low it sounded just like the hum of a bass through the thick, white walls.

"They're coming inside!" announced Butler suddenly, "Minerva, Holly, Artemis- get behind me!"

Hearing the urgency in the large Butler's voice, Minerva instantly dove behind the giant. However, Holly and Artemis remained where they were. Butler could understand Holly; though she was small, she was an adult elf, and a trained soldier at that. She had too much honor to be protected by a human.

It was Artemis' actions that he couldn't accept. The principal needed protection.

"Artemis!" rumbled Butler again, but this time much more quietly; the rustling coming from outside the walls had mysteriously stopped -- Butler suspected that they were opening an invisible door of some sort.

Artemis shook his head solemnly.

"Sorry, Butler," he said, "But I don't think it makes a difference where I stand. I'd rather show some courage for once."

Butler blinked. Had the disease muddled his brain, seriously? The bodyguard considered simply taking a giant leap and landing in front of the boy if he wouldn't move, but that probably wasn't on the list of "very professional" things to do. Plus, at that moment, a hole formed in the wall ahead of him- the wall that the noise came from.

The hole morphed into a gap, which grew into a large gap, which became more rectangular, until, finally, it was a huge, rectangular space that reached to the top of the room. A doorway.

And from that doorway, guards came in.

Everyone in the room stiffened even more than they already were, staring like cornered beasts at the tall, swift "robots". But they needn't have worried. The guards (there were eight of them, to be exact), lined up, four to each wall on opposite sides of the doorway, stopping once reaching symmetrical positions. Then, with movements that were in perfect unison, they turned to face the terrified captives and saluted.

Well, _that_ was a change. From being assaulted, to being saluted.

Yet, apparently, they weren't saluting at the captives. Their respect was directed to the man that followed them through the doorway...

...If such a large beast could be called a man.

He was huge. Huger than the doorway, it seemed. His body was hidden in shadow from the door- or maybe the shadow had hidden in his body? It was hard to tell the difference. He drew closer and closer to the gap, each grand, calculated footstep sounding as though it could have belonged to a large elephant.

"Wh-wha?" whispered Holly, hoping to Frond that this being was just another robot.

"Greetings," he growled. Minerva felt as though she would faint.

Finally, he ducked his head through the doorway and strode in, standing to his full height- a foot taller and half a foot wider than the already terrifying Butler. The light from the room hit his face.

Butler recognized him.

Butler knew him.

And worst yet, Butler did a thing that he had not done since his first day at Madam Ko's academy, a couple decades ago-

Butler took a step backward in shock.

"No," the bodyguard said.

Sharp, green eyes connected with Butler's brown ones (**A/N: I guessed at Butler's eye colors... :P**). Everyone in the room, conflicted with their own terror, didn't notice Butler's predicament.

Everyone except for Artemis, that is. And it only made the boy loose more hope when he realized that Butler was more stunned than he at the... the giant.

The being cocked his head, then eyed the alarmed bodyguard. "Well, well..." he hummed.

Suddenly- _thankfully_- the intensely fearful moment was broken. For, as though possessed, Juliet suddenly screamed.

Everyone in the room, wired by already crazy emotions, jumped about a foot in the air and turned wildly toward the screaming girl. Yet, for some odd reason, she didn't seem to be screaming in horror.

She seemed to be screaming in delight.

"N-no- No WAY!" she yelled, stopping in her screech to breathe, "It can't be you, can it?!" Tears of happiness ran down her face, and, to everyone's immense shock, she dove at the man, giving him a bear-like hug, giggling in an uncalled-for ecstasy.

The man seemed at a loss. His terrifying, monster aura was shot by a small, teenage female with highlighted blonde hair. Who was giving him a hug.

"It is you!!" laughed Juliet.

"It is you, Uncle!!"

* * *

Well, needless to say, the Major's plan wasn't working so well. It seemed that he had forgotten about Juliet's eccentricity. His forgetfulness was well paid for; he was now standing in a room full of captives, looking totally confused, with a sobbing girl around his waist. So much for "intimidating". He seriously hoped that his boss wasn't watching.

He looked around to see if his appearance still held a grip on any of the captives. None to say. Well, maybe the little, curly-haired girl was still afraid, but that didn't seem too surprising.

This was not a good sign for the Major.

The Fowl's gang seemed to have clicked into a simple understanding at the word "uncle". Looks of realization were quickly spreading through the other two in the group: that was, the small elf and the raven-haired boy (Minerva still hid shyly behind Domovoi). In fact, nearly all sense of fear was disappearing from their eyes. Well, him being Juliet's "uncle" had explained his boulder-like stature. And the rumbling voice. And the steroid-like muscles. He was just like Artemis' bodyguard, and, just like Artemis' bodyguard, he was a Butler. According to the agreement between the Fowl and Butler families, he would be on their side.

_Not good,_ thought Major. But the disapproval wasn't for him, it was for the captives. They were assuming that, because he was a Butler, he was their friend. Well, he would kill that assumption quickly.

"Juliet," he rumbled, "Please, remove yourself. It isn't necessary for you to get hurt."

Juliet looked up, eyelashes sprinkled with tears. "Huh?" she said, "Why would you hurt me, Uncle Maj'?" (**A/N: pronounced "Mage", lol...**) She blinked. "Speaking of which, why are you still alive?"

Still, she removed herself and backed up, choosing to take this chance to get a good look at her long-lost acquaintance. She waited for an answer.

"Uncle Maj'" ignored her.

Instead, he said simply, "I have come here under orders." But those brief words had effect.

"Orders?" rumbled Butler. That was the first word he had said since the door had mysteriously appeared in the wall, and is was wrought with expertly hidden emotion. "From whom? A Butler of your status reports to, and _only_ to, his principal of the Fowl bloodline. So I ask again..."

Domovoi stood up to his full height (which is quite a sight), strode up to his uncle, and, with a mysterious, yet strangely defiant, strong purpose, looked him straight in the eye.

"...What orders?"

But the Major remained unnerved. He was probably the only thing on the earth that wouldn't have been. Or, for that matter, under it.

"You have changed," admitted the Major, "You're far more foolish then you were the last time I saw you. You haven't even asked why I'm still alive before questioning me. But having a risky principal can do that..."

"Why have you abandoned Master Fowl?" snarled Butler, standing before his uncle, as still as a rock, "He is your principal. You do not abandon your principal, no matter what."

"Abandon?" the Major said, "He abandoned me. In fact, he _dismissed _me."

Juliet gasped, looking as though the Major had announced that he had become a professional dancer. "Why would Master Fowl do that?" she whimpered.

Dismissing was the worst thing a principal could do to their bodyguard. Worse than starving, torturing, or even killing. A Butler lived to protect a Fowl, and breaking that bond left the Butler both shamed and without a purpose. Thus, dismissing was the equivalent to sending a Butler to Hell, so to speak.

Major shrugged. "Actually, at the time, I could understand where he was coming from." He paused. "We were floating on a burnt piece of the Fowl Star, in the middle of the Arctic Ocean. And, for some reason, Artemis the First suddenly came up with a brilliant plan that could save us both. A plan that involved me leaving him in the middle of the Arctic."

"What?" said Butler, "You were floating on a peice of rubble in the middle of the ocean. You must understand how I find it hard to believe that Artemis I actually came up with such a plan."

"Can you? Can you really find it difficult to believe?" the Major's eye's sparkled in a secret knowledge, disconnecting with Butler's and scanning the room. "It appears that you have an elf in your company. Tell me, what kind of well-thought, reasonable plan got you an elf?"

Holly blushed as his eyes focused on her.

"The Fowl's are not known for their timidness. And even so, I would never- _never_- abandon my Fowl, no matter _what_- unless he strongly wished it to be so." The Major shook his head in a sad, wise kind of way, but then snapped back to business.

"And, having been dismissed, my current boss found me and employed me. I was free to work for him. Thus, here I am!"

The Major shrugged, looking about.

"Didn't actually expect my boss to have a personal vendetta with Artemis II, but still..." he paused, switching into "business" mode. "Back to my mission."

He looked up and met Butler in the eyes for the breifest moment. Yet, in that breif moment, Butler realized what his uncle's task was. It was a moment too late.

Butler found himself crashing into the south side of the room, flying a good fifteen feet before hitting the white, solid wall. The bodyguard instantly jumped back to his feet, unnerved by the kick, but shocked at the man who gave it nonetheless. He found the Major crouched in his official fighting position. The man must have been pushing 60, yet it didn't show in his physical abilities.

"Ready yourself, nephew," he growled devilishly, his eyes flashing in the wild delight that fighting gave him.

"You're about to take the ride of your life."

**Yay!! Dramatic, cliffhanger ending!! Aren't you so happy? lolol... Don't hurt me... But still, there'll be more Butler X Butler bonding in the next chapter. ... Putting it that way, it sounds totally wrong. Ok, you'll find out more about what happened to the Major! SO there!! Sighs just review...**


	16. An Unusual Family Reunion

**Woot! Chappies done! I really won't get into how long it took me to update. I'm too ashamed... :'( lol. Actually, to tell the truth, I've just been totally crammed with finals. I hate Earth Science now more than ever. Yay, rocks... Anyway, this chapter took me, I dunno, a good thirty minutes to write altogether? Just shows how lazy I am for not updating ;) Ahhh, I promised I wouldn't go on about why I didn't update! &! (Keepin' it T-rated :P) Lol, anyway, yay for summer!! **

* * *

The Butler's fight was truly an amazing one to watch.

That is, if you could follow the combatants' movement.

Kick after kick flew, so subtly accurate that they appeared as a swift, black blur to the untrained eye. Butler clashed with Butler, fighting master with fighting master, and the sight they made when they fought was one so magnificent that it could be called godly. One moment to the viewer, it seemed that Domovoi was defeating his uncle- then, literally in the blink of an eye, the roles were switched. It was nearly impossible to follow.

Yet the fighters followed it with a trained ease, not hesitating for a moment on their next punch, next kick, next block. And, secretly, they both knew who was winning the battle so far. Butler was.

Major Butler, that is (**A/N: lol sorry, couldn't resist...**). This worried Domovoi, as loosing in a battle so extreme usually should. But he kept his head. Almost mechanically, he observed every single one of the Major's lightning-quick moves. What he found was unnerving. Every punch, every kick, was flawless. Searching for an opening seemed hopeless. Of course he saw some weak spots uncover when he was struck with a particular move, but Butler knew that the Major, having never made mistakes like that, purposely made such openings just to trap him. Typical Major.

Yet, the disadvantages were nearly all upon Domovoi. The Major had several decades more experience than him, had the knowledge of his surroundings, and didn't have to pay careful attention to where his kicks were aimed as all of his team-mates were made of steel and seemed to have no feelings. However, Butler not only had four bodies to watch out for, but two of them seemed to be hopelessly fighting-inexperienced bodies. This, on top of having all the other negative factors of being held captive in alien territory. It was certainly looking grim for Butler. And things looking grim for Butler in an all-out fight usually didn't bode well for his comrades.

It was harsh, and though Butler felt a little panicked at him loosing the battle, he felt something else, farther down into himself. It was the place were he only went when he looked into the eyes of his little sister- and, though he hated to admit it, his young principle as well. Every once in a while, through bouts of offensive and defensive attacks, there were brief, millisecond-moments where his vision rested upon his uncle's face. And each time felt as though his opponent had struck him with a violent knife wound, right in his chest.

He hated to admit it, but it hurt him that his uncle's face was the same as his enemies.

But, on second thought, it didn't. Butler was (surprisingly) a Butler, and Butler's spared no room in their hearts for those who were firing lethal attacks upon them. No matter what circumstance. So, as he had done so many times before in Madame Ko's academy, he pushed back the loving memories of his childhood so long ago. Now was _definitely _not the time for a flashback.

Unfortunately for Butler, though, he wasn't the only one in the room who had known the Major in their childhood. There was one other person, and she wasn't about to repress her memories. Instead, Juliet, who was seemingly not enjoying the fight, foolishly chose to dive between the two dueling monsters.

Not the wisest decision she had ever made, but what the heck- she had done worse.

Surprisingly, not only did Butler stop flinging the punches, but the Major did, as well. Juliet, arms outspread, looked like a little, baby sapling between two gigantic, full-grown oak trees. Two gigantic, testosterone-filled, bloodthirsty, full-grown oak trees. And she seemed just as startled as anyone else that she was not already pummeled to a pulp at that point.

"Ah," she said, lowering her arms once she realized that they were still intact. She then regained her purpose and confidence with Juliet-like speed. "What the _heck_ do you two think you're doing?!"

Everyone in the room blinked in an amused shock. The sapling had sass.

She whirled about, glaring into the two faces with a surprisingly angry, accusing look. "Have you forgotten that we're all _family?!_ Why the hell are you two beating each other to the death? Huh?"

The two male Butlers were gazing down at the small girl, bewildered. Domovoi, who knew Juliet better and recovered quickly, responded first. "This isn't about family," he rumbled.

Wrong answer, he thought as soon as the words had left his lips. But it was to late for him. Juliet froze on the spot, then, with a tantalizingly slow speed, turned to meet her sibling's eyes.

It was like something out of a horror movie, only sickeningly twisted so that it was almost humorous.

"Not..." whispered Juliet in a sharp voice, "...about _family?!"_

Even the Major winced in anticipation.

Juliet took a deep breath, then yelled with a pair of deadly lungs, "_Uncle Maj_ has come _back_ from the _dead_!! How is this _not_ a family moment?"

"Well-," Butler started vainly.

"We have known him for our entire lives! A good portion of our childhood was spent with him! And you greet him after his seemingly eternal absence by brawling like a trained ape? Honestly!"

She took a pause to breathe, and seemed to remember that there was more than one culprit.

"And you!!" she whirled about. Major blinked. Coming from Major, this was a gesture of serious alarm. "You think that just because you've been believed to have been dead for half a dozen years, you expect to be excempt from a guilty part in this fight? Well, I've heard that men with muscles have no brains, but I didn't think that meant _you._"

"Ouch," whispered Holly, momentarily gaining her voice back.

"Both of you should be ashamed! Blood is thicker than water, and is _certainly_ thicker than the air between both of your heads! Now stop fighting and make up!"

There was a silence. If Minerva wasn't so shocked, she would have snickered in amusement- both male Butlers were blushing.

Butler gulped, hesitating before saying these next words. But they had to be said- either him or his uncle needed to voice these words, or loose the honor that decades of training had given them. He inhaled.

"Juliet," he braced, "This isn't a family business. I gave up family when I became Artemis' guard. It's the way of the Butlers."

Juliet inhaled and exhaled slowly, counting to ten, in an attempt to curb her mighty teenage fury. "Bro," she said slowly, "If you gave up family, then what am I? Chopped liver?"

"No, you're my sister."

"But really," Juliet said, "The Major wan't our uncle. He was a father to us, wasn't he, bro? Does a sister compare to a father?"

The silence in the room was an extremely intense mixture of shock and awkwardness. Only the stubborn Juliet, with her hands on her hips, seemed immune.

"Like a father?" whispered Holly. She had known Butler for, technically, six years. Not once had she considered that the magnificent, solid bodyguard was once a small, innocent kid who needed a parent. It was just, simply unimaginable.

"I wouldn't say that," rumbled Major, "I was just filling my rightful place."

"What you did was honorable," whispered Juliet, suddenly humbled. She hesitated before continuing. "After all, no-one had ever expected our father to abandon Mom and us like that."

The entire room hushed. Minerva felt extreme discomfort, the same discomfort that she used to get when she accidentally walked in on her parents arguing. Juliet looked about, realizing the awkwardness she was inflicting on the others.

"So why are we fighting?" she asked, "Make up!"

There wasn't a movement in the room. Everyone stood still. Juliet, the only person not caught in the sudden Ice Age, whirled about between the two men and looked for any sign of movement, like a unsure cat glaring at a mouse it had just killed to see if it still lived. Suddenly, after a good twenty seconds of Juliet's spinning about, someone broke the silence. And, to everyone's exasperation, it was Minerva who spoke.

"Um, um, excuse me?" she whimpered, clearly terrified that she dared to speak, "_Monsieurs_?"

The Butler's turned, in unison, and it seemed all the anger they were holding was directed at her. Well, Minerva felt that way, anyway.

"Ah," squeaked Minerva, loosing her voice once more.

"Yeah, Minnie?" said Juliet casually, apparently hoping for some support from the curly-haired girl.

It was the "Minnie" that made her regain her confidence, and her haughtiness as an extra.

"My name's Minerva, Ms. Butler, and you'd do well to call me by it," she sniffed, carefully avoiding the eyes of the giants in case they made her freeze up again. She drew herself to her full height of 5'4", and stuck her nose in the air proudly, as she always did when she knew she about to prove the winning point.

"If you and Artemis' guard truly are as close as Ms. Juliet suggests," she directed at the Major, though she dared not look into his face, "Then why, indeed, are we still trapped in this- _excusez moi pour mon francais_- monsterous, metal hellhole?"

Everyone blinked. The Major sighed. He knew this was coming. They had just gone through a touching, albeit frightening, family reunion and nothing whatsoever had changed in the situation.

"I'm afraid," he rumbled slowly, "That I cannot do that."

Juliet looked horrified.

"Uncle Maj!" she cried, "Why not? Don't you care what happens to us?"

Uncle Major shook his head in defiance, "It's not that. And, quite frankly, I would have abandoned my boss years ago if I had the choice."

"But you do have the choice! " pleaded Juliet desperately, "I probably just made the most motivational loss of temper anyone has ever had, and you discard the meaning of the tantrum just like that? Honor doesn't matter between family, Uncle!"

"Although honor is included, my reasons have little to do with it," admitted the Major, beginning to crack his quarter-sized knuckles, "There is more at stake here than my pride. My boss has ways of controlling me that, honestly, I'm ashamed to mention. Regardless, though," he crouched down, "I came here to complete a task."

"No!" screeched Juliet, but it was in vain.

The Major moved so quickly it appeared as though he had just vanished, and reappeared beside Butler with his leg aimed in a kick. Butler blocked it.

"Please, Juliet," growled Domovoi, firing a punch at his male relative, "If he's this keen on finishing this fight, then we'd better finish it.

Juliet tugged at her hair in frustration, but apparently gave up. "Fine," she snapped, then stormed off into a corner, plopped herself down cross-legged, and childishly faced the wall so as to not see the fight. Minerva had already lost herself in it.

Once again, kicks flew, punches dove, and chaos reigned. Neither of the men seemed to have slowed down at all- in fact, they flung their attacks with renewed intensity. The duel went on.

But something didn't seem right in the battle, despite this. Domovoi and his uncle had a history, that much was apparent. Domovoi, though he hated to admit it, knew his uncle. He knew him well. And, in having this knowledge, he most certainly knew the Major's full potential in fighting. To put it short, this was not it. His relative was holding back. And even though Butler knew he was loosing to this "holding back", it didn't make it less true.

At first, Butler was hesitant to conclude this. For a trained fighter to hold back at any opponent- no matter who- seemed absurd! He didn't even spare Juliet in her training sessions- after all, she fought him to improve, and improvement only came with challenges. But nothing should stop the Major from unleashing his full fury on Butler right then and there.

Unless...

...Unless fighting wasn't his true task.

It suddenly struck Butler as he hastily dodged his Uncle's darting kick. He almost wished the kick had hit him, instead of this reality. Butler cursed fluently and harshly inside his head. Ignoring the Major for a split second, he whirled about.

Of course, he was whacked full-blown by a punch from his uncle, and was sent crashing into a few indifferent robots. Nonetheless, Butler had seen the truth, and was horrified by it. He leapt to his feet, a terrifying look of fury, un-suppressed, on his face.

"Where is he?!" he roared. Holly could have sworn she felt the room shudder at the noise.

His uncle chuckled, though the rest of the watchers thought there was nothing funny about the look Butler had just given him. The room seemed oddly still without the two attacking each other. The Major shook his head in a scolding manner, then eyed his teeming nephew slyly.

"You trained for a decade to become a bodyguard, yet it still takes you several minutes to notice your principle has gone missing?" he tutted, "Madame Ko would be horrified."

With a shock, the rest of the captive gang whirled about, searching for the missing prodigy.

"Artemis?!" cried Minerva desperately.

But the genius couldn't hear her- for indeed, as Butler had seen, Artemis had already gone.

* * *

**Dun Dun Dunnnnnn!! Mwa-ha-ha-ha-haaaa!!... You know, if it makes you feel better, I really didn't plan for so bad a cliffhanger. I was gonna go on to Artemis' point-of-view from the fight (and where he went) but I was just too lazy. If that makes you want to kill me any less. I can't remember if I promised that you would see the genious or not in the last chapter summary, for this chapter... Ah, now I feel so bad!! I amploigize _inensly_(whoa, random word) if I did, and if I didn't, well... I promise that you get to see him next chappie! Yay for next chappie!**

ATTENTION!!-Ok, ok, I'm gonna be creative in my summaries for once. In a super-lame attempt to get you to review, I will offer you this game! My lucky number is between one and fifteen. Should someone review, and land on my lucky number (like, the first reviewer is #1, the fourth reviewer is #4), I will dare to reveal the tantalizing secret (drumroll please)...(drumroll)... of who the criminal is!! TA RA TAH!! Actually, it isn't that big of a secret, considering his identity will be given out... soon... and all I will be giving you is his name (no details) but still!! Oh, btw, if you don't want to have the secret revealed, just say so in your review. Also, if you dissaprove of these kinds of things, feel free to say so in your review as well. You getting the hint? ;P Ok, then... Good luck!!


	17. Through the Doorway

**Omg! My quickest update yet!! I'm gonna celebrate for this one... Break out the chocolate!! lol. Anyway, I've had a lot more free time now that my finals are done and summer has officially begun. Maybe now I'll begin to update at reasonable times! Wouldn't that be a treat? But, in all seriousness, I decided to upload this chappie before my contest in the last one was finished. I wasn't sure that it was fair, so I went, screw it, and updated this one before a winner could be chosen. I'm actually not entirely sure if I woulda gotten enough reviews, anyway ;P Still, enjoy the newest chappie! Oh, BTW, the fight scene seems to last much longer in this chapter than in the last. I guess I probably shoulda planned that out a bit better, but still... Enjoy!  
**

* * *

Once the arms and legs started swinging again, Artemis felt a slight bout of exasperation hit his stomach. He knew, after watching the previous part of the fight, that Domovoi was loosing. He knew that it would take at least another ten minutes for his Butler to go down completely. Though he admitted that he didn't know squat about Butler's past, and that the man he was dueling was the father figure in his life, he knew that it didn't make a difference in the battle. What he was sure of, however, was that something needed to change in the next couple of minutes, or he and his friends would probably be escorted out of here by those robots and taken to God knows where- probably not for a nice cup of tea, either. Artemis needed a plan. Again-again.

He watched the two men brutally maneuver attacks at each other, sometimes even moving out of the visual spectrum to do so. A glimpse of an idea came into Artemis' head. Could he possibly attack the Major while he was occupied with fighting? But he shot down the idea literally as soon as it came into his head. Artemis knew that doing such a thing would be suicide. For one, there were about half a dozen robot guards with their movement-censored eyes on the captives, ready to strike as soon as anyone made an illegal move toward the Major. And for another, Artemis had seen others try the same idea on Butler, and to put it kindly, it never worked. So that plan was a big strike-out. He thought a bit more. For anything to go in favor with the oddball group, they needed to get out of the room. And the only ones with the knowledge for how to get out of the room were the guards/robots. Artemis blinked. Was it possible that he might be able to reprogram them? All mechanics had a memory to screw with, why not these? He rolled back his shoulders in a stretch. Why not? He had about ten minutes to kill- might as well use them trying to reprogram a foreign machine.

Taking no heed to be quiet (the Butlers were making as much noise as a carnival) Artemis slowly, inconspicuously, slipped behind the backs of Minerva and Holly, who were mesmerized by the fight, to the nearest guard. He paused, standing directly in front of the machine. Nothing happened. Cautiously, and as sneakily as he could, he waved his hand at the thing. Still, nothing happened. It seemed the guards weren't programmed to mind this kind of behavior. So far, so good.

He eyed the being from head to foot. There were thousands of places the mastermind would have thought to put the control panel. But which one was the most possible? Artemis mentally read through the lengthy list. Most of the thousands Artemis disguarded, because they would simply be too far out in the open. If putting the control panel somewhere safe would save the robot from shutting down at every shot, why not? Some Artemis disguarded because they were far to obvious. The criminal was a genius- genii did not do practical if it was predictable. And the last few Artemis shot down, mainly to save his dignity. To put it G-ratedly, who'd want to reach into those places?

And really, that only left two spots. The part behind the sunglasses, or somewhere in the hand region. Simply, not a lot of people were tall enough to reach up to the head, and then the "eyes" were conveniently covered up by a dark pair of sunglasses. People would automatically assume there were two pupils behind the shades, while the motion censors would be sneakily hidden somewhere else. The second possibility was the control panel being on the hand, probably on the palm. It seemed logical- the place was always covered by a sharp-looking revolver. People would think twice about reaching toward there.

But Artemis needn't think twice about it. He started with checking the hand. This was mainly because, although he had grown to 5"11' in the past couple of months and could reach the head(**A/N: Fangirl squeal :3**), he would be far too obvious and would be noticed in doing so. However, he also hesitated before reaching toward the hand. How far would the guard let him go before he decided that the prisoner should be stopped? But. thinking about it for a second time, he realized that it would be best if he at least tried, even if the guard attacked him for it.

Slowly, very slowly, he reached toward the sleek, black handgun and put his hand around it. The guard stood still. Artemis pulled, and the gun slid out of the hand, making the palm fall conveniently open. Still no movement from the guard.

A twinge of suspicion hit Artemis. Why wasn't the guard programmed to stop him? But then again, why was Artemis worried about that? If it could get him out of this room, he would do almost anything. He touched the hand. Not surprisingly, it was cold. No blood ran through these monsters. He held it, palm up, and began to run his fingers over the hand, delicately searching for any unnatural groove or latch. The craftsmanship on the guard was immaculate- its palm was done down to the very last detail. The mastermind was quite a perfectionist.

Suddenly, Artemis realized how odd this might look to Holly if she was watching him- or worse yet, if Minerva was watching him. He whirled around. They were both watching the fight, with an odd mixture of horrified curiosity on their faces. Juliet was still staring at the wall, sulking. Thank God. He went back to examining the hand.

Ah! He had found it. So the memory panel _was _on the hand. Mentally running through his knowledge on wires and computer hacking, and pushing down his triumphant confidence, he flipped open the hatch.

All triumphant feelings vanished from him in a magnificent poof. There were no wires behind the hand- there was only a screen. And it seemed that the mastermind was watching him this very moment, because words began appearing on the small monitor.

_Greetings, old friend_, it said, _I've been expecting you._

Typical, thought Artemis. This is just typical.

The mastermind, however, cut straight to the point.

_I regret that this conversation will probably be rather one-sided, though I hope you will listen. Although your friends have chosen to help you, I understand that you would rather they not, yes?_

Artemis blinked, unsure of his meaning. The mastermind seemed to sense this.

_I worded that strangely. Let me try again. You wish to save your friends, don't you?_

Artemis sighed. He had expected that that was his meaning. He also suspected that the mastermind would use that kind of tactic. He nodded, knowing that if the mastermind had been watching him from camera before, he would see this.

_Ah, I see,_ replied the screen, _In that case, listen- or, rather, read- this. I want to meet with you, alone._

This, Artemis hadn't predicted. Well, he had suspected that the criminal wanted to meet with him, but under these circumstances?

_I have no need for your friends anymore. If you decide to follow my instructions, I will instruct the Major to guide them out. Once he's finished with his fight, of course. However, if you don't, something considerably less pleasant will happen.  
_

Of course you don't have a need for my friends anymore, Artemis thought angrily, You tricked them into staying simply so you could threaten me like this, should I have survived the poison! But his angry thoughts didn't help him any. Slowly, he nodded.

_Was that a nod for you to meet with me? Or for you to stay?_

What do you think, old chum? Artemis moved his lips to the words bitterly, knowing the mastermind could probably read lips through the camera, as well. There was a pause where the screen stayed blank. Then...

_Very well,_ said the mastermind,_ Once you are out, follow the corridor, by yourself, to the door straight ahead. Be sure that no-one notices your departure._

Curtly, Artemis nodded. A small door, about two feet tall and wide, appeared behind the guard, hidden by its body. Artemis edged around the guard inconspicuously, and crouched down to crawl through. But before he exited, he paused.

Looking around, he gazed at the dueling Butler, the pouting Juliet, and the mesmerized Holly and Minerva. His heart stabbed.

He sincerely hoped this wouldn't be his last time seeing them.

But then, he jerked back to reality, and, realizing what he was doing, crawled through the door.

As soon as he squeezed through, the door quietly slid shut, leaving Artemis by his lonesome. He looked down at his hand. To his surprise, he found the guard's revolver still there. Oh, well, he thought, Couldn't hurt to keep it.

The corridor was dank and metallic, with harsh, steel walls and a plain, white floor. The mastermind clearly felt no need to decorate other parts of the fortress. Artemis felt a drizzle of claustrophobia as he looked down the steely hallway. There was only one way to go: to the right, and straight from there. He began walking.

Each step echoed in a tinny style, only reminding Artemis even more of how horribly alone he was. It left a cool place in his heart, that, eight years ago, would have felt completely normal. And then, a sudden thought hit Artemis. If Artemis felt this lonely simply walking through the place, then...

...Then how must the genius feel living in it?

Artemis' head cocked, a new curiosity filling his mind. How intriguing. The boy seemed only his age, yet lived solitarily in his steel castle, building robots and plotting evil schemes with revenge. Not the best childhood Artemis could think of. But then again, Artemis realized with a jolt, he had been like that not so long ago. The horror of his fathers death combined with his mother's madness had made him loose all sense of comfort, and he had lived a lifestyle much like this one.

So what happened with this boy?

_Have you ever known defeat?_

The voice echoed inside Artemis' mind like his footsteps. Defeat... Was it possible that the boy went through all this simply because he wanted Artemis hurt- or worse, dead? Did _Artemis_ do this to the criminal, just as the Russian mafia had done to him a decade ago? Artemis couldn't deny his past. And, in the honest truth, it wouldn't surprise him if he had caused the master mind's pain, now that he though about it. Suddenly, he felt sick.

He forcefully pushed the speculations out of his mind and began walking faster. He knew that those thoughts were what the criminal wanted him to think. Artemis didn't want to give him that satisfaction.

So he trudged onward.

The scenery never changed through the hallway. The same metal walls, the same white floor, the same eerie light that seemed to come from nowhere. Artemis wondered what a little decoration would do. A painting here or there. Clearly, the mastermind didn't have a taste for home decor. Suddenly, Artemis realized a change. Up ahead, about the size of a dime, there seemed to be a solid wall.

Artemis hoped to God it was not a solid wall.

Eager for any change, however, he found himself beginning to trot toward the end of the hallway, his footsteps pattering along with him like rain on a sidewalk. The wall grew larger and larger until the Fowl, now panting slightly, was just a few feet away from it. Artemis was positive that he was not mistaken: it was, indeed, a great slab of metal.

If this was the criminal's idea of a joke, Artemis would instantly loose all pity for him that he had gained through his walk in the hallway.

Yet it wasn't. As if by magic, the wall slid apart, creating a portal. A door, thought Artemis, How original.

But his sarcasm was stifled at what came next. Artemis gasped, seeing what the doorway lead into.

The room was an exact replica of the front hall of Fowl Mansion. As intricate as the guards had been, the entranceway was exactly as Artemis had remembered seeing it (though he could hardly believe so soon) earlier that morning. Without realizing he was doing so, he took unconscious steps through the room, staring at its delicate perfection. There was the intricate Persian rug that his great-grandfather retrieved hunting a century ago, the mahogany wooden banisters that lead up the stairs, the marble, 26-stepped staircase itself, the priceless Bohemian crystal chandelier that glittered overhead, the welcome mat woven in Turkey with a grand bird of prey flying through a strong oak tree on it (which symbolized both power and health). It was all exact, every last detail.

Artemis thought he was dreaming.

"Do you like it?" said a voice Artemis knew all too well, from behind him, at the doorway he had just left, "It took me two full years to complete, you know."

"How did you do it?" said the Fowl, realizing what the mastermind had done, and was beginning to feel nauseated, "How could you have gotten inside...?"

The criminal chuckled, sending another wave of disgust through Artemis, "I had a right to, you know."

"You did not," said Artemis, keeping his voice calm. He suddenly became horribly aware of the gun in his hand. "Only the Fowl's have such a right to live in this hall. You have none."

"Yes, I do," said the mastermind, "Why don't you turn around and find out why, Arty?"

So Artemis turned.

There, at the doorway, the criminal stood. His mysterious cloak was gone. He wore a plain white dress shirt, with plain white dress pants, with simple clogged shoes. In his hand, there was a clear glass of water. No disguises.

Artemis could see his face fully.

* * *

**... Please don't kill me. You knew deep down in your hearts that I would stop there, didn't you? :D Ahhh, OK, just to be safe, just tone down a bit on the death threats if you decide to review me, lol. If it makes you feel better, I promise that I'll update withing the week, or less!! So help me God. ... You still want to kill me, don't you? :P**


	18. Identity Revealed!

**Hah!! I promised I would update within the week! What'd I tell ya? Aren't I special? lol... Anyway, this chapter is a bit too confusing for anyone to comprehend. Have fun reading it. I just had small issues explaining things, for some reason... Save any question for reviews, I'll be glad to answer! I just had a really bad writing week. Just warnin ya! But, really, this chapter is quite interesting besides that! Probably shouldn't insult my chapter before you start reading it... Not the best tactic for an author :P Enjoy, anyway!!**

* * *

There, at the doorway, the criminal stood. His mysterious cloak was gone. He wore a plain white dress shirt, with plain white dress pants, with simple clogged shoes. In his hand, there was a clear glass of water. No disguises.

Artemis could see his face fully.

He had the high forehead and broad jaw of a Scotsman, with a surprisingly average nose and simple pair of lips that sported a sickeningly sly smile. His head was full of a reddish-blond hair, thick, though curiously tamed back in a neatly-combed style. He was barely shorter than Artemis, giving the Fowl the impression that he was his age, maybe a bit younger.

But his eyes.

His eyes made Artemis jump when he gazed into them. They were the same exact, deathly icy, piercing blue ones that Artemis once sported back in his criminal days. Eyes that could be either stunning and full of beauty, or cold and full of a fierce, evil cunning. The boy, Artemis noted, clearly sported the latter. He swallowed.

"Surprised?" said the criminal, slowly striding toward Artemis with a confident air, "You know, I have been waiting for the longest time for this moment. I was hoping for a stronger reaction."

Artemis examined him with a subtle curiosity, as if deciding what he should do next.

"What exactly do you mean by a 'stronger reaction'?" he asked.

The mastermind blinked, startled. The sly grin disappeared from his lips, as if he sensed that something was wrong.

"Well," the blond-haired teen said, "It has been nearly a decade since I saw you last. I expected a bit more of a dramatic reaction, you know?"

"Dramatic," considered Artemis slowly. He shrugged, "There must be some mistake."

The criminal paused, processing what Artemis had just said, then began laughing. It was a controlled, handsome-sounding laugh. Yet despite this, Artemis sensed a hint of hysteria hidden beneath the cries of pleasure. That only made the Fowl more uneasy.

"What?" the criminal said, his devilish grin replacing the laughter, "Are Fowl's not allowed to show emotion? We're genii, not robots. I prefer the freedom of smiling when I desire."

"That's not the problem," said Artemis, "I can show emotion if I desire. I just have too much dignity to do so."

The mastermind's smile vanished again, having sensed an insult. _If showing facial expressions means changing them so often,_ though Artemis slyly, _then I really would prefer not to._ "If that's not the problem, then what is?" he snapped, badly disguising his anger.

Eager to bring the criminal to understanding, Artemis skipped to the point.

"I have absolutely no idea who you are," he said.

There was a silence that seemed to emanate throughout the 'Fowl's' hallway. For once, Artemis noted, the criminal's face seemed respectably blank. The glass of water in the boy's hands slipped a little as he considered what Artemis had just said. They stood like that for a moment, eye to eye, each of them scanning the other's face for any sign of a bluff. After a while, the blond-haired boy spoke.

"You're not joking," he said, as if he had just reached that revelation recently.

"I'm certainly not," said Artemis, solemnly shaking his head, "Why would I? I have had so many enemies in my life, honestly, it doesn't surprise me that I don't remember you by sight. Please don't take it personally."

"Yet," said the boy slowly, "Nor am I joking. Not in the least."

"Well, obviously not. You've already gone this far with your revenge," agreed Artemis, making sure that no hint of sheepishness entered his voice. This was no time to show shame.

"I," said the blond, his face still blank, "I was expecting any reaction. Anything at all. I had prepared for years to take whatever reaction the great Artemis Fowl II could give me. But _this..._"

Once more, Artemis II shrugged. This wasn't the first time something like this had happened, as sad as it was. Yet, Artemis had to admit, no one had ever gotten this far with their revenge. He was eager to find out what exactly he had done to the poor criminal.

"I warned you not to take it personally."

"And I can understand _why,"_ snapped the mastermind, regaining his spicy temper, "But after what you did, I'd think you could at least spare a piece of your mind for repentance. How _dare _you."

Artemis had nothing to say. He knew that he was a genius, but memory by sight had always been a weak spot for him. It would help to know exactly what he had done to the boy. He was surprised to find he could no longer look the criminal into his sharp, blue eyes, so like his own.

"Ah, well," said the criminal, in a sudden, alarming change of mood, "At least my conscience will be eased."

Artemis blinked. What did the criminal just say? Artemis hoped he had heard wrong. Artemis clenched his gun with a renewed urge.

"Do you want to know who I am, Mister Fowl?" said the criminal, smiling despite his fury. He swirled the cup of water in his hands suggestively, "Do you want to know why I captured you and your friends? Why I still, after around ten years, want to cause you such pain?"

Artemis stared at the criminal. He had never fired a gun before. That was a job for a Butler, not a Fowl. He was beginning to wish he had practiced. The criminal still seemed to not notice the weapon, concentrating harder on his glass of liquid.

The blond chuckled. "Of course you want to know. Let me start with my name."He straightened himself to his full height, blue eyes glittering. "I'm McKinley. Aiden McKinley. And my grudge with you began the day I was born."

Suddenly, the glass in his hands shattered. Artemis jumped, nearly pulling the trigger on his slyly hidden handgun. The black-haired genius was greatful for the boy's untrained anger. He was worried that Aiden had filled that water with some kind of poison- now it seemed it couldn't be used, having spilled it all over the replicated, rich rug. The Fowl noticed the boy's hands were bleeding, yet the blond seemed to ignore them- his eyes were focused fiercely on his enemy, the Fowl.

"McKinley, huh?" whispered Artemis, now feeling a certain sinking in the pit of his stomach. He had hoped the name would help him recognize his enemy. Why could he not remember? He had never forgotten anything so big before, not even a single element on the Scientific table. Now, he realized, his opponent would be seriously furious. If breaking a glass was what McKinley did when he found out of Artemis' ignorance for the first time, Artemis didn't think it wise to test what else he could shatter, now that Artemis had done it again. Artemis furiously searched his mind for any indication of identity for the boy.

Aiden McKinely. A strong, Scottish name- it matched his appearance. With the fortress seriously indicating a sign of a limitless budget, it seemed likely that the boy could possibly be related to the deceased Irish rocker, Manson McKinley. But then again, Manson stood right along the lines of honor of the bat-eating Ozzie Osborn. Aiden, however, built a giant metal castle filled with countless, intricate robot guards in his spare time. Couldn't find much of a resemblance there. Aiden was barely shorter than Artemis, with a clearly significant IQ, and a strong sense of perseverance. Scratch that, a _very_ strong sense of perseverance. This was the kid who spent his later childhood plotting a long-winded revenge, if his monologuing was truthful.

Suddenly, a sharp spark went off in Artemis' mind. His eyes went blurry, and he went into a fierce, trance-like state.

He saw a blond boy- no older than five- stubbornly refusing to climb down an ancient oak tree until he reached the very top. He was too determined, too perseverant. Night time was coming, and Artemis, small and impatient, was eager to get back... Back to Fowl mansion...

The current Artemis snapped back to attention to find a curious, yet still furious, Aiden McKinley staring back at him. It appeared no more than three seconds had passed while Artemis dreamed.

_What was that?! _thought Artemis in a hidden panic, _Was that a memory? But that certainly couldn't have been my memory. I spent my childhood alone with Butler, not playing with other children. I have never lived through such a scene... Have I? No, I definitely haven't! Would I not remember it? Would _Butler _not have remembered it? That was a hallucination, more likely than anything else, brought on by the pressure of the traumatic experience I'm having..._

Suddenly, Artemis was snapped back to reality, remembering where he was. Aiden spoke.

"Yes, McKinley. Your oldest acquaintance. The one boy you ever befriended as a child. To think you might have forgotten me- you had me worried for a second."

Artemis felt a sickening irony at his words. To think he had forgotten. But more then that, he felt a terrible apprehension- could his hallucination have been true? Yet it couldn't. How could he have possibly forgotten an entire childhood friend- his _only_ childhood friend?! What was going on?

"If you remember me," continued McKinley, unaware of the flurry of confusion occurring within his opponent, "Then you certainly remember the pain, the dishonor, you put me through. And, among those, you remember my _curse._"

"Curse?" said Artemis, aware that his repeating things back did nothing. He was so flustered, he was loosing a grip on his flawless composure. And that certainly was not good.

"Yes, Artemis," said the boy, grinning slyly. He bowed his head, and his eyes were hidden slightly by a cloud of bangs. "The curse that comes to those special, chosen ones who dare touch the great, flawless Artemis Fowl II."

Curse? There was no way. No way could "that" be a curse.

"Yes," said the mastermind, and he grinned, broad and crazy, "The first wrong you had ever done to me, Fowl- make me a freak and brand me as a dangerous being for the rest of my life."

Artemis didn't even have a chance to say how many things were totally wrong with that sentence. Suddenly, it was if he was thrown out of the 'Fowl's' front hallway and into the depths of outer space. His entire body grew furiously, icy cold and stiff. He became immobile, totally immersed in some strange, transparent cocoon. And worst yet, he found he couldn't breathe. It was as if he was a hundred feet underwater...

Suddenly, another spark went of in Artemis' mind. Now clearly wasn't the time, but his memory obviously didn't care about Artemis' eminent doom.

A younger Artemis was sitting cross-legged, eying another boy with an undisguised sultry air. The boy was the same one before, and was- the Dreaming Artemis felt his imaginary jaw drop- walking on water. He walked timidly, each step creating halo-like ripples, trying to make his way across a small pond.

He turned, and, even though he was sweating from intense concentration, still managed to tease his poor, side-lined friend.

"Come on, Artemis! Quit sulking!" he giggled in a high-pitched, child's voice, "You'd be in here with me if you just bothered to learn how to swim!"

But then he lost his concentration and the water gave way beneath him, soaking him completely for his gloating... He didn't care seem to care too much...

Artemis jumped back to reality to find his lungs burning agonizingly, begging him for air._ He has powers of water!_ realized Artemis, panicking,_ And he's going to drown me in this giant, inside out bubble with them!_

For, from an outside viewer, that was exactly what it was. Artemis was suspended, completely frozen, two feet into the air inside a huge sphere of water. It was a gigantic, glistening water bomb with out the balloon- and it seemed that the sphere's controller had every intention of letting him drown in there. Aiden McKinely, the wielder of water, was observing his prey with a sickeningly curious gaze. It seemed that the exploding glass was no accident.

Artemis tried to calm himself down and think properly, although he already knew that his chances out of the bubble were slim to none. He had about one minute to stop Aiden before he would pass out from air deprivation, if the boy intended to kill him. Artemis didn't doubt the boy's will to kill him. However, even the most basic actions were near impossible inside the liquid prison- it was as if it was ice, not water. So Artemis decided to do the simplest thing he could think of.

_Move!_

He concentrated his mind immensely on a single digit, his only hope: his trigger finger. _Move,_ his mind screamed, _Move! Move!_ It took a tremendous strain, as if he was being forced to lift 1000 pounds, instead of moving a couple of centimeters. Yet, slowly, he did it.

And the reaction was nothing less than explosive.

The gun fired, thank God, and the bullet cleared through to the outside, breaking through the bubble's outer shell much like a pin would to a balloon. Just as Artemis suspected, it was the opposite reaction to an underwater bubble: once a small hole was made, the unsuspecting criminal couldn't stop the water from spilling out through it. The sphere collapsed in a huge splash, draining out through the hall. Artemis collapsed onto the sopping carpet, gasping for air like a beached flounder and soaked through to his bone.

"What?!" cried Aiden, clearly startled at the destruction of his liquid creation. Then he spotted the handgun. His face paled.

"How?-" he gasped, the fury kicking all the air out of him, "How could you?-"

But Artemis was back on his feet, staring at the mastermind with a renowned sense of fear and wonder.

"You were actually going to kill me," realized the black-haired teen, beginning to shiver from his newly ruined, soaked designer suit, "You were ready to become a murderer."

Artemis was mind-boggled. He had never considered himself an angel. He had done many horrible, appalling things in his short life. But, truly, he had _always_ avoided the killing of another, no matter what the case. In his criminal days, he had considered it his only weakness, next to his mother. Now, he considered it his most human quality. But McKinley... McKinley had no such fear. No such humanity. Artemis felt nauseous at the thought.

"Ready?" said Aiden. He shook his head, "I am already past ready, Fowl. You are too late." His eyes were the coldest, coldest blue Artemis had seen yet. A cold of death.

"You see, thanks to you, my friend, I have already killed before."

* * *

**Ok, you have to admit, this cliffhanger isn't as bad as the last chapter's. Right?... lol But really, if you have any questions or anything, feel free to ask... I promise to update within the week (by 7/07/08) so you can stick with me!! Actually, I might update sooner, but that's my deadline :) Don't leave me!! Next chappie will be less confusing, I promise!! Next time: How the heck did Artemis convince this kid to murder someone? What exactly happened between Aiden and Artemis? And what happened to Artemis' memories? We'll soon find out!!**


	19. Reason 1

**Whoo! I updated on time again! (Cheers) Although I have to admit, this chapter is short. I haven't written something this short since chapter 11... Ah, well. I'm having trouble with this whole "Aiden-Explaining-What-The-Hell-Happened" thing. It's harder than it looks :) And, since I haven't done a disclaimer in a gazillion years, I might as well now. Anything that Eoin Colfer has ever written in his entire life is not mine. Anything that is left over from whatever Eoin Colfer had written, in this story, is mine. (mine! mwha-ha-ha-ha-haa!) All the same, enjoy!**

* * *

"Thanks to me?" said Artemis, mentally gaping at the boy through his stone visage, "What did I do?"

The words were out of his mouth before he could stop them, thanks to an intense mixture of discomfort, fear, and exhaustion. _Ah, well, _thought Artemis briskly, _If the boy drowns me because I can't remember him, at least I'll die with a vague sense of dignity..._

The sad thing was, a "vague sense of dignity" was the only good thing Artemis could think up about his situation.

However, Artemis needn't have worried. Aiden didn't seem the least bit unnerved by the question. In fact, to both Artemis' relief and exasperation, he seemed to relish the chance of monologuing.

"Hah!" he said dramatically, his blue eyes flashing devilishly, "What did you do? You know very well what you did. You controlled me! Just as you control all other humans with your magic!"

Artemis looked convincingly confused, so he continued. "You controlled me much like a puppet on strings- no, _worse_ than a puppet on strings! I had no choice in my magic's actions, except to watch with horror as the terrible gift of water you have cursed me with wreaked havoc on any poor souls within it's grasp!"

Artemis was baffled. "I gave you the magic?" Artemis knew he shouldn't be surprised. He had done so to Minerva, why shouldn't he have been able to do the same to Aiden? All the same, he still felt a little shocked at what the boy was saying.

"Do you mean that you lost control of it?"

McKinley blinked, staring at Artemis. Then, rather contrastingly with the mood, he began to chuckle. Artemis really couldn't see what was so funny, and was glad when the blonde boy stopped.

"Me? Loose control?" said the mastermind, strutting ever closer to the still-soaking, raven-haired teen, "I never did _anything_ wrong with my magic. I controlled it just fine. Rather, _you _lost control, Artemis, my dear friend."

Artemis stared at the boy. "What difference does it make to the magic if I loose control? I have none," he asked, now utterly confused. As if anybody wasn't before.

McKinley spread out his arms wide and grinned. Artemis thought that if he'd only get a steak knife, he could have easily been casted for _Psycho_ in his latest movie.

"My friend, I'd have to thank you," he laughed, "You have let me get my anger out through this pointless monologuing for a fairly long time now. It has really been quite a good therapy for me to retell my tale of anger and revenge! But don't you think, however, that this form of stalling his a bit too obvious?"

_Stalling,_ though Artemis wearily, _He thinks that I'm _stalling._ And better yet, he has the audacity to actually play along with it... Well, why not?_

"Sure, it's obvious," said Artemis in a monotone voice, "But what do you care if I buy a few extra minutes of time?"

"Spot on," said Aiden in a sickeningly cheering voice, "Well then, I'll continue... Where did I stop?"

"I lost control," reminded Artemis, still in his monotone voice that hid his curiosity.

"Ah, yes," picked up the boy, "You lost control. And, as you well know, you are the puppetmaster of my magic. You give it to me, I become a kind of tool, or better yet, a conductor, for you. And thus, if the boss looses control of the situation, so does his henchmen. You loose your mind in a blinding moment of anger, and my water gift lashes out at everything and anything close to me."

Artemis understood well enough. What he had trouble with was _believing_ such a thing happening. Especially since, past the strange, trance-like memories he had been having, he couldn't even recognize the boy telling him those facts. Him, a puppetmaster of magic? He had to travel through space and time just to get his own! Still, he played along. He would sort out his thoughts later, if he lived till then. And if not, well, then it didn't matter anyway.

"But who was close to you at the time?" he asked, an innocent question.

McKinley paled. His gaze flitted toward Artemis and it's steely, coldness was fiercely apparent within his eyes, as if Artemis was trying to wound him by asking such a question. He pretended not to have heard what the black-haired teen had said. Apparently, he did not want to monologue that particular scene. Artemis got the hint and asked another question, as if he had never asked the first. Crazy, grief-ridden masterminds were way too touchy.

"Why did I loose control, then?"

This one, Aiden answered readily. Artemis guessed he would have- blaming Artemis seemed to be the boy's general goal, after all. "Nobody truly knows but you," he shrugged, back to his normal self in one of his frighteningly quick mood swings, "I asked the one-who-controls-fire, because he was with you the night it happened, but he refused to tell me. No matter how persuasive I was."

"The one-who-controls-fire?" gasped Artemis. So his teacher had been with him for longer than he could account for. But why couldn't he remember that, as well as anything about Aiden? There was definitely some serious memory loss in Artemis' mind.

Artemis chose to blame Foaly for it.

"You do remember the one-who-controls-fire, don't you?" chuckled Aiden, "I hate having to call him in his foolish code name. He's far too paranoid that his identity will be discovered. As if anyone outside our circle would care who he was. I've wondered what he would do to me if I just randomly revealed it to someone, just for the fun of it..."

But Artemis wasn't really paying attention. His mind was whirling. So his teacher knew who Aiden was, just as Aiden knew who he was. And apparently Artemis once knew, too. But after all his so-called "sessions" with his master, why did his teacher not tell him anything about his past? The supposed first-time Artemis had met the man, the man had acted as if it was their first time meeting, as well! He had played along with Artemis' memory loss, which obviously meant he had known about it ... But why? What did it all mean? And, as if it needed being more complicated, there was also the part about a so-called "circle", a gang, by the sounds of it...

"... But then again, I don't think I'd be here if I did so," McKinley ended his sentence disdainfully.

Artemis ignored his whirling head, and asked another question. This time he was really just buying time. "But why didn't he tell you why I had gotten so angry?"

"How should I know?" shrugged Aiden, his voice sharp with bitterness, "I had every reason to know what had happened, yet he wouldn't say. I climb on a ship to go sailing with my parents, come back alone, and still have no idea why it happened. The one-who-controls-fire is cruel."

He then lapsed into silence, waiting for Artemis to ask the next question. But the question wasn't coming anytime soon.

Artemis' mind, for the first time in a long time, had gone completely blank from horror.

* * *

**Le Gasp!! Artemis' mind is BLANK!! For those of you who didn't catch why, reread. For those of you who did catch why, REVIEW! I know you are out there, readers. I can see my Stats now, thanks to my technologically savvy friend showing me how to get to it on my account. And I can see that you are reading. I know what you read this summer... :( lol creepy... But anyway, I luv spazzin bout reviews :) Till next week!!  
**


	20. Security Breach

* * *

**Yay!! Chapter's up! I actually got this one up... uh... one day early... lol it's still early!! Anyways, my chapters seem to be getting shorter now that I've done the whole week-to-week thing. Ah, well. Long chapter's used to kill me with the writing, and the shorter ones suit my ADD much better, lol. Oh! I drew a pic of the ice-skating scene (Ch.6) and put it up on DeviantArt, if you wanna look! It's color quality got crappy when I put it up there, and Minerva looks more like a Barbie doll than a child prodigy, but ah well! It's still... um... interesting... lolz Here's the link- kratosluvr123./art/Artemis-Ice-Skating-91273413. Actually, I think you might see it more in detail if you go to full view... Anyways, enjoy the chappie!!**

* * *

"Your... Your parents?..." said Artemis, aware that he was gaping but, for once, not putting in the effort to stop himself, "You lost control of your magic and... and your parents were sacrificed in the damage?"

Aiden didn't seem to have the energy for anger anymore. He just gazed out into space in a stony stare.

"I didn't loose control," he muttered bitterly, "It wasn't me."

But Artemis refused to believe it was him, as well. He was still wrapping his head around the idea that the magic he had stolen could have such a destructive power. Besides, he had no memory of any of these things: the boy, the fire-man, the magic... How could he be so sure any of it was true if he himself had no creditable proof? It was as if he had eaten something forgein before going to sleep, and this was merely a resulting nightmare. A strange, horrible nightmare, in which he, Artemis, was being falsely accused, as far as he knew.

And Artemis tended to know.

Yet, once he had calmed himself, Artemis couldn't help feeling a tender sympathy for the boy, below all the injustice. Artemis had lost his parents, once. He knew the pain. And to think that Aiden could possibly have lost them all in one single blow, assured to never come back, and by his own hands. It made the Fowl realize how mind-bogglingly painful that would have been. It had nearly cost Artemis his sanity when he briefly lost his guardians. And, looking around at the perfect replica of the Fowl Manor's entranceway, Artemis decided that it had already lost Aiden his. So, even though Artemis had virtually no idea what in God's name Aiden was talking about, he sympathized. That was, until Artemis remembered what lengths the boy had gone to to kill him.

"It wasn't me, either," said Artemis, a slight edge to his voice, "You cannot blame me for their deaths, as hurtful as it may be for you to realize."

Artemis knew that wasn't the right thing for him to say in that moment. But for some reason, he didn't try to stop himelf. Some of the new, honest honor Holly had given to him through friendship made him find some strange purpose in sticking up for himself.

"Not _your fault?_" hissed Aiden.

_Sure enough,_ thought Artemis grimly, _Bad decision..._

"Of course it was your fault! You're the controller of the magic! The puppeteer! The leader of us all!!"

"'Us all'?" said Artemis before he could stop himself.

"Yes, 'us all'! The fire man, that blond-haired brat you have with you, Elanor... Us all!" he cried, desperately furious, "The seven of us, the Seven Seraphim! And you," he jabbed a finger at the Fowl, "The _Chosen_."

Artemis was now sure the boy was raving mad. Was 'chosen' said with a capital 'c', or was that just Artemis' imagination? Aiden continued to storm.

"How could you ask such stupid questions? Where's the Artemis I once knew and admired?! Don't you... Don't you...?"

And then, just as suddenly as he began, Aiden stopped. He turned from where he had been pacing in his fury to stare at Artemis. His blue-eyed gaze was full of a mixture of shocked realization and silent horror. Suddenly it made sense. The different Artemis. The stupid questions. The cleverly disguised blank stares.

"You... You still don't remember, do you?" whispered Aiden slowly, his eyes widening to the size of saucers, making him look even more alarming.

_Oh, dear,_ thought Artemis. His cover was blown.

"You've been lying to me this whole time!" hissed Aiden, his cheeks flushing in a way that did not bode well for Artemis.

_Oh..._ Artemis thought some words that surprised his sophisticated language greatly. He must have learned the language from the times Butler had beaten up some particularly vulgar victims. The teen took a step backward, as if it would protect him from the hopeless situation.

McKinley clenched his fist, and Artemis had a sickening suspicion that he was going to use the spilt water once more, and this time in a far more violent fashion.

"How dare you, you little-!"

But Aiden never had the chance to complete his no-doubt colorful exclamation. A blaring alarm sounded sharply throughout the hall, echoing against the hard tile floors and walls. Artemis jumped at the noise- it had shattered the silence more violently than he had thought possible. Aiden looked wildly around, as if the cause of the alarm would jump out at him, brandishing a huge sign with the word "culprit" on it. Then he seemed to calm down a bit, and collected himself.

"Database," he called out, seemingly to midair, "Status report."

The alarm stopped, and Artemis had enough experience to know what would happen next. Sure enough, a voice answered the criminal, clearly from a collection of high-quality speakers. It was a womanly, soothing voice, with nearly no sign of the stale, robotic sound a computer normally had.

"Sir, we have an breach of the premises."

"It's not any of that damn centaur's creations, is it, Data?"

"No, sir. The intruder seems to be alive- a single human being."

Aiden blinked, startled. He seemed to have briefly forgotten about his anger at Artemis. He clearly hadn't been expecting a break in, at the least.

"A single man?" he said doubtfully, "Anything unusual about him?"

"As a matter of fact, yes, sir," said the computer in her smooth, feminine voice, "The man seems to be causing a significant damage on the building."

"Significant?" said McKinley.

"So far, Sectors 4-A through 7-D have been destroyed."

It was Aiden's turn to gape.

"Twelve entire sectors? By one man?" he cried desperately, "How could one man single-handedly destroy an entire chunk of my masterpiece?! Database, show images. Sector 6-C. Video recordings before the incidents, please."

A gap opened through the Turkish welcome mat, omitting a sleek plasma screen. Artemis now had no doubt about the authenticity of the mat. The screen crackled with static, then shot into a tape that was clearly from a security camera. It was of a large, metallic room, filled with countless flashing and moving machines. It took a while before Artemis noticed the man between all of the movement. A black flash of a cloak. A tall shadow of a being. A bright, red flash. And then the screen went to static once more.

Aiden blinked, startled and clearly confused. He ran his hands frustratedly over his mouth, then through his hair. Then he pulled himself together once more.

"Database, show me Section 6-D, now, before the destruction."

Again, the screen flashed to a sector. It was a hallway much like the one Artemis had walked through, though clearly larger. This time, however, the destruction came before the man. And it came in the form of fire- frantic, flaming, hungry fire that consumed the room at an impossible speed. It licked at the metallic walls and floor with a frightening fury that seemed somewhat unnatural. Then, the fire's controller came into view. He was dressed in a night-black cloak, and his face was disguised by a thick hood. Yet, despite this, Artemis could have sworn he saw a white smile glint between the flames before the video screen flashed into static, and the tape was destroyed.

"What?!" gasped Aiden McKinley, now staring shamelessly at the static screen, "It couldn't... It couldn't possibly be..."

"The-one-who-controls-fire," finished Artemis in a hoarse whisper, as shocked as the criminal was at his teacher's appearance.

Aiden stared at the crackling screen. His mouth opened, then closed, then opened again, this time admitting a raucous laughter.

"Impossible," he roared, "Simply impossible... He marches in here, now, of all times... And destroys years worth of hard labor..."

But he took another deep, shuddering breath and managed to calm his impossible raging anger once more. He adressed his main computer.

"Data, put away the T.V., and tell me- where exactly is the intruder headed?"

There was a pause as the database obeyed its commands and processed the information.

"There is no way to be sure about where the man is headed, but there is good reason to suggest that his destination is Sector 9-B."

"9-B," chuckled Aiden wearily, "Why am I not surprised?" He rubbed his eyes in a weak kind of anger.

"Sector 9-B?" Artemis couldn't control his fierce curiosity.

"Where the prisoners are kept," explained Aiden, looking up with one of his wild, crazed grins. He giggled in a small hysteria. "He's going to save your friends. And I'm going to have to stop him."

* * *

**And thats where my cliffhanger breaks in... If the last part was mega-cunfuzzling, it was probably cause I wrote it at 12:30 AM last night while watching a rerun of Saturday Night Live. lol I love their Macgruber skit, its freakin hilarious... He's been blown up, like, a gazillion times by now... Anyways, it _might_ take me 2 weeks to update for next time. I'm starting a new fanfic in the Tales of Symphonia (games) section, and I think I _might_ start alternating weeks from that one and this one. But then again, that fanfic _might_-who am I kidding?- _will probably_ turn out to be a flop, so I'll go back to 1 week updates... :P Ok, it's time for me to rat you out on reviews. I seriously haven't gotten ANY reviews- thats _not one_- in the last two chapters. It's like you want to make me cry :'(... You don't want to make me cry, right?... Right?... OK, you peoples are sadistic :P But seriously, it only takes like, 2 seconds. Even if you just write, 'update'. Anonymous reviews welcome. Seriously... OK! Super CommentWhore away!! (flies off into the distant sunset)  
**

* * *


	21. An Unexpected Interruption

**Yay!! Next chappie!!... And it only took me several weeks longer than I said it would... lolz. But really, summer's nearly over now :''C I actually have (not counting the weekend) three more days of fun. Not cool. Ah, well. I'd also like to give a shout out to PropernameSurname. There, I said it... happy? lololz sorry my best bud asked me to advertise. She writes really cool Bourne fanfics. Check them out!! Ok, that's about it. I hope you enjoy this chapter :)**

* * *

"What have you done with Artemis?!"

The roar was so deafening that everyone in the vicinity heard a ringing in the dead silence after. Butler stood facing his uncle, a look of anger on his face that would have sent a thousand trolls to quiver behind their grimy dreadlocks, and a stance that clearly said "Give me the right answer, or the only light you will ever see again is the one at the end of the tunnel."

Uncle Major stared calmly back. He was the only man in the world that could ever do so, looking into such a face. His cool, gray eyes taunted Butler with a sense of understanding at his predicament. Butler didn't appreciate the sympathy.

"Answer me!" he bellowed, stepping away from the white wall, which now had a Butler-sized dent imprinted into it. Crumbles of whitewash came away with him.

The Major, who seemed un-intimidated by the challenge, took a threatening step toward the bodyguard.

"I, personally, have no clue where he's gone," shrugged the uncle, "I saw him crawling out of this room about five minutes ago. Thought it would be interesting to see how long it would take you to notice. But as to where he went? I'm not so sure."

Butler clenched his fist. To his horror, he found it was shaking. Whether in anger, exhaustion, fear, or anything else, shaking was unacceptable for a fighter of his skill. He forced himself to calm down. It was a feat so hard Butler thought it might be easier for him to disguise himself as a sugarplum fairy and get a spot in the in the Nutcracker. Eventually, however, he succeeded.

"What do you mean, crawled? And exited?" growled Domovoi, "Firstly, in case you haven't noticed, this room has no doors, or at least no doors that will open for Artemis or any of us prisoners. And secondly, Fowls do not crawl."

"Well," sighed the Major, rolling his eyes (yet still managing to never take one off of Butler), "The door that appeared was rather close to the ground, so Master Artemis was forced to crawl. As to why he crawled through it, well, I assume he had the same thought on his mind as me."

"And what was that?" spoke Butler in a tone that could have started a new Ice Age. He didn't like the Major's casual way of speaking.

"That the doorway would lead to my boss," said the elder Butler simply, "And that meant a head-to-head talk with him, no innocents involved."

Every prisoner in the room sighed in unison. It was the answer they had been expecting, but definitely not wishing for. Artemis had gone straight into the alligator's mouth, and seemed to have every intention of being eaten. Without them being included as side-dishes.

Everyone in the room remained tense and silent. Minerva stood, her hand pressed to her mouth. Suddenly she waved it away in a flurry of anger.

"Honestly!" she cried, finally regaining the words she had lost in fear, during the Butler's battle, "What _was_ he thinking?"

Everyone turned, startled at her sudden outburst.

"Why do you think we're here in the first place? To help him! And what do we get for helping him? We get left behind, that's what! That blasted, imbecile,deviled, horrible _salopard _**(A/N: French, look it up :P)**! He thinks he can stand us up like this, then he is deathly wrong!"

Minerva's face had flushed red, and her arms were trembling in pure fury. Holly felt exasperated, thinking that Minerva should have learned not to bottle her anger up so long. The Major, however, looked interested.

"You must be Artemis' little girlfriend," the Major joked, "My, what a temper you have."

Minerva did not take to that well.

"Who are you to decide who I am?" snapped the French, "Artemis' girlfriend? Don't make me laugh."

Holly rolled her eyes. Five minutes ago, she knew Minerva would have gladly taken that status as a compliment.

"I couldn't get near to that boy now, much less be his... his _acquaintance_. You'd better hope that your boss finishes of Artemis before I can get to him, because if that boy isn't dead by the time I find him, he soon will be, and you'll be scarred by the images of his murder to boot!"

Minerva crossed her arms over her chest, and glared at the ex-bodyguard with eyes that glittered from tears of fury. She seemed to be done venting, to everyone's relief. The outburst would have been highly amusing, had the situation not been so serious.

"Assuming that that comment was only a threat, and you have no serious intention of carrying it out," said the Major, "I would like to continue as to what my Master wishes all of you to do while he deals with his enemy."

"As if we'll do what he says," growled Holly, her eyes flashing dangerously.

"As if you have a choice," replied the Major smartly, calmly straightening his tie that had gone slightly askew during his battle. "My boss wishes that you continue doing what you have been doing for the past hours. Your time to help your friend has come to an end, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you can't be used as leverage. Please don't resist. It might end badly. Besides, Master's request is not that difficult, and your attempts to help Artemis so far have been futile, if not... interesting..." His eyes lingered on Minerva, who still pouted stubbornly.

"Stop calling him that," growled Butler.

The Major shifted his gaze to his nephew in an inquiring air.

"Stop calling that monster your _Master_," Butler continued, flexing his clenched fists subtly. The Major still noticed the angry gesture.

"Fighting is also among the list of pointless things you could do that would simply cause you pain," pointed out the Major, "Besides, what else should I call him? After all, he is my employer."

"No, he _isn't,_" said Butler, his rising voice announcing his hidden anger clearly, "This boy isn't your master. Your principal is your master. And a Butler should always stand by his principle, no matter what happens. Never let them alone. Never abandon them. Never leave them stranded in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean on a piece of rubble-!"

"_I had no choice!!_" roared the Major, loosing his cool for the first time. Everyone in the room jumped a foot at the terrifying noise. Butler stared at his uncle, shocked at his yelling. It was the first time he had ever seen the Major loose his cool, in the long decades that he had known him. The Major seemed just as shocked as everyone else. He shook his head slightly and composed himself, but it was too late. The wound had been exposed.

It had been eight years for him, but the Major was still feeling the agony that came with being dismissed. And the worst thing was, the Major wasn't sure that he ever would get over it. But he rolled his massive shoulders, and pushed the pain aside as though it was nothing.

"Once a Butler is dismissed," he said coolly, keeping his writhing emotions expertly in check behind countless year of rock-hard training, "He is done in his job, no questions asked. No excuses. And that also means that he is free to do what he wants- to _work_ for who he wants. I won't deny it. The freedom seems like more of a curse than a blessing to me. But there is no sense in crying over spilled milk- especially if you weren't the one to tip the glass."

But Juliet, having finished with her sulking in the corner at her uncle's outburst, wouldn't drop the topic.

"Then why _did_ Master Fowl tip the glass?" she inquired, "Why did he dismiss you, and in such an odd situation? There must be such a reason for him to choose such a horrible path!"

The Major moved his eyes from Domovoi and to his niece. It may have just been her imagination, but there was a glint of sad wisdom flashing through them. He opened his mouth to speak.

But he never got the chance. That was when Artemis' teacher blasted through the walls of the prison in a fiery wave of unforgivably dramatic fury.

Butler, out of reflex more than actual thought to protect them, dove in front of his sister and Minerva, hoping that Holly's suit would create a safe haven for her. Flames curled wildly out of a gap in the wall, which had mysteriously exploded open with strength enough to kill an elephant (but not, as it was, a Butler). The robots didn't bother to react -Butler suspected they were fireproof already. The flames licked at the room through the opening, eager to taste everything and everyone in the room, and Butler could hear Holly cursing avidly through their ecstatic roar. Oops. Maybe her suit wasn't fireproof.

But soon, the mysterious flames died down, oddly disappearing almost as quickly as they came. Butler sat for a moment as the smoke cleared, and the once-pure-white floors of the room revealed itself to be charred and miserable-looking. Butler turned.

There was an unknown figure standing in the smoke. He wasn't very large, about the hight of an average man, and seemed to be carrying himself in the air of a casual hero, as though he was just taking a walk in the park and _happened _to stumble in upon three trapped prisoners and a slightly smoldered elf. And then the smoke cleared a bit, and Artemis' gang saw him clearly.

A black cloak. A flashing smile. Untouched by the raging flames. Butler recognized this man.

He was the intruder that barged into Artemis' room at three in the morning, a week or two ago.

And then the cloaked man spoke.

"Hello," he said, "How would you all like to be saved by me?"

* * *

**Yaaa super-cool dude!! Isn't he super cool? lol not really... But anyways, this chapter is finished, and absolutely nothing got explained. Absolutely nothing. And the outburst from Minerva halfway through was kinda random, too... Oh! Speaking of which, how many of you actually Googled "salopard" like I told you to? Just curious... and trying to make up a cheap way to get you to review... :D lolol that was sad. Oh, btw, I know that even though the alarms went off, they couldn't hear them in the prisoner's room. I'll explain that in the next chappie ;:)Ok, enough of my jabbering! See you in one week (if I'm a good little girl ;3)**


	22. FireMan to the Rescue!

**Well... It's been a couple years, but I'm back :) Ahhh, feel free to kill me now... lol I'm sorry. I was so good about updating before, too... I guess I got caught up in everything else? In truth, I think I might have given up on this story, thinking that I was too old to write fanfiction. But lately, I couldn't stop thinking about this fanfic, and even though I'm trying to write a novel of my own, I could only think about this storyline... So, I said, what the hell? Why not keep writing if you want to? You're never too old for ... right? I'm 18, in case you guys were wondering :) Probably too old for Artemis Fowl, right? But hey, it's an awesome series! So here I am, with another chapter! Hope you guys enjoy!**

* * *

"Hello," he said, "How would you all like to be saved by me?"

Holly gaped at the man who had just barged through the white wall, ignoring the fact that her suit was now smoldering slightly. The man who visited Artemis. She had no doubt about it. Standing there, flashing a demon's smile amidst a crowd of flames. Unbelievable.

The flames roared, eating at everything around them. In an instant, the guards aimed to shoot at the man, but they never got the chance. The flames ate them away, melting them as though they were popsicles. Their fake skin slowly slid of, revealing a mess of wires beneath, and, one by one, the robots fell to the floor, destroyed by the horrid heat of the fire. The flames, their work done, slowly died with the metal beasts.

"Excuse me?" mumbled Butler, his eyes wide as dinner plates, watching the pool of melted metal slowly grow.

The man stared, looking slightly disappointed. "You didn't hear me?" he sighed, "I said I'm here to save you. Be happy, yes?"

"I think what Butler means, is who the _hell_ are you?" snapped Holly, recovering from her shock, "Here we were, trying to figure out where in Frond's name Artemis has gotten off to, trapped in a giant metal fortress by a crazed teen and his guard who just happens to be a Butler, and suddenly _you_ barge in here, amidst roaring flames, no less, with that snark little grin and that cocky stance, and insist we _leave with you?_ No offence, but what the hell?"

"Actually," squeaked Minerva, who seemed to have gained her previously lost voice back, "it pretty much fits in with everything that has happened to us today…"

Minerva was ignored.

"How did you get in here?" growled the Major, clearly shocked that the once-indestructible fortress that his master had created had been breached, by a stranger no less.

"I blasted my way through," said the man simply, "You know, with fire?"

"With fire?" gaped Juliet, "Must have been one hell of a fire to get through those walls!" She looked at the smoldering bots. "Then again…" she muttered.

"So you mean with bombs," suggested Holly.

"No," assured the man, "With fire."

And with a wave of his hand, the fire leaped up beside him, growing an extra foot in an instant, then diminishing completely just as quickly.

The man could control it. He could control fire.

Minerva gasped. "How-How did you do that?"

"Same way that you just learned how to use your wild magic, little missy," he smiled.

The room was quiet as they processed this information, except for the crackle of flames and the quiet moan of dying robots.

"Please," Holly broke the silence, "_Please_ do not tell me that you're telling me that you have magic too."

The man shrugged in his thick cloak, then nodded.

Holly groaned, seemingly finally loosing it. She crouched down, tugging her hair. "Humans. With magic. _Why?_" she whimpered, "It's just not natural. This was never meant to be. For all of time, only fairy's have wielded magic. Now, all of a sudden, three humans…? God, Foaly will never believe this…"

"Under normal circumstances, yes, humans shouldn't have magic," admitted the cloaked fire-breather, turning slightly serious, "But these days, nothing is normal. The world is changing. Nothing will ever be the same. The fairy's may have believed themselves the only ones with magic for several millennia, but now, thanks to Artemis, that's about to be different." Suddenly, he jumped. "Speaking of Artemis," he said cheerily, "I'd better go save him before he's drowned."

"Drowned?" squeaked Minerva.

"Well, yes," said the cloaked man, "As a matter of fact. But he's only got himself to blame. I told him specifically not to do this. And he goes and does it. He's lucky I've come to save him at all. But, there's my conscience to think of, I guess." He turned to the misfit group. "So, let's go!"

"You're not going anywhere," growled Butler Sr.

The room was filled with burnt embers and ash, and the Major was covered with them. The smudged appearance didn't dampen his ferocity in the least, however. He looked ready to kill, if need be. The cloaked man looked as if he had just noticed the giant, 350-pound beast in the room.

"You are not destroying my master's plan," snarled the Major, "For five years, he's worked for this. Nothing will stop him. Not with me helping. And that includes _you._"

The fire-man eyed the Major. Six feet though he was, the Major was at least a foot taller than he, and at least three times the girth. All with muscle. Still, he did have his fire powers. And he had something more: understanding. He stared at the Major.

"Do you even feel loyalty to that murderous kid?" asked Mr. Fire.

The Major didn't answer, startled slightly by the man's odd answer to his threat. Usually, all he heard after an order like that was, "Yes, Major, sir." He hoped his stony silence would be enough to tell the man that he meant serious business.

"Major, I know why you're doing this," the cloaked man said, "And it still doesn't make it right."

"What?" said the Major, shocked by the random statement.

"I know how you're master's holding you under his finger," he said, "I know why you can't leave his side."

The Major paused, then realized how ridiculous the fire-man was being. Did he really think he could trick him, a Butler who had fought for the last 50 years, with such a hoax? What a fool.

"I don't know what you're talking about," answered the senior Butler slyly, "All I know is that we are staying right where we are until my master gives me another order."

"He's blaming you, isn't he?" said the man, "For you leaving your family? For you leaving _her_?"

"Her?" said Juliet, curious. There was no such thing as a "her" in a Butler's life. The idea was laughable. Well, Domovoi himself had Juliet, but that was different. Juliet was his little sister. The Major, as far as she knew, had no living blood- relatives besides his little nephews.

Yet the Major blanched. He took a step back, horrified, from the cloaked man. Could it be that he actually knew?…

"And the sad thing is, it wasn't really your fault," said the man, slowly shaking his hooded and hidden head in despair, "You had to leave. Artemis I was your _principal_, for God's sake. And that little twerp is blaming you for getting blown up on that ship, out in the middle of the Arctic, and leaving her alone with no-one to take care of her, isn't he?"

He looked up. The Major was silent, staring at him with a horrified, pleading look- a look that begged him not to continue. Luckily for the Major, Butler interrupted.

"Artemis might be getting _drowned_?" he snapped, bringing everyone back to the danger of the situation.

"Well, yes," said the cloaked man, turning to Butler, "Which is why we _really_ need to get going…"

Yet they were at a standstill. They wanted to go, but the Major wouldn't let them leave. Sure, the fire-man could have just burned his way through the Major, but Holly had the feeling that the man had too much respect, too much pity, for the man to just burn him down. He wanted to change him. Make him see why working for the crazed teen was wrong. Just like a real teacher. So the cloaked man just stared at the Major, with what Holly imagined were pleading eyes, in the hope that he could change his mind.

"You say you are going to stop my master, and you wish me to betray him?" said the Major, "As much as he may deserve it at this point, as much as I know what he's doing is wrong, and as much as I may want to switch sides to help you, the matter of the fact is I owe him. There's no way I could leave his side now, no matter if the enemy is a Fowl or not. No way."

There was a silence. The room smoldered and calmed, the flames finally having gone away. The robots were now melted in a toxic looking puddle on the floor. In the distance, it seemed, there was the muffled sounds of an alarm going off: the fact that the fire-man was now inside the fortress seemed no secret. They had little time to escape, and even littler time to save Artemis, if he was indeed being drowned. Everyone was smeared in ashes, and the effect created a grim look, adding to the mood of the conversation.

"Hmm," said the cloaked man, "You say you owe him?"

The Major gave a brief nod of assent.

"Well, then, I think I may have a solution," said the fire-controller, his smile glinting through the shadow of his face, "You see, that little genius owes me. Quite a lot, actually."

"Owes you?" snapped Holly in disbelief, "What does that freak owe you, besides the honor of destroying half of your house?"

"He deserved that. And he owes me for several reasons I prefer not to mention at this time," said the man smartly, "Plus, he also owes me for breaking a sacred vow today that he promised me he would not do. It seems that revenge finally got the best of him, as I feared it would. Now both of my apprentices are face to face. Lovely."

"Apprentices?" repeated Holly.

"But the fact is," said the cloaked man, ignoring Holly, "he owes me. And that means, that if I decide to take on the burden of the Major owing him, we should say that these two owings may be cancelled out, and we might as well consider ourselves even. Easy as that. _C'est la vie_." He turned to the Major. "What do you think? Will it work?"

The Major glared at the man in the shadow where he assumed his eyes would be. He thought.

"I can't just give up on him so easily…" grunted the Major, "He's just a kid. And besides, it's not the Butler way."

The cloaked man seemed to be giving him a look underneath the shadow of his hood. "The kid's a psycho-maniac. He's trying to kill a 15-year-old boy for reasons unknown and, most likely, unreasonable."

"Well," the Major said, "You do have a point. That little monster is quite a brat. I would take any excuse, any chance I would get to be free of his order. It's just this guilt, this fear, that's holding me back. Yet, if you say you're going to stop him, and you say that he owes you, too, I think I might just take the one chance I've got. Plus, he _did _make me fight my nephews, even knowing how I felt about them. The heartless bastard." He sighed, a deep rumble. "So, yes. It's a deal."

"You'll let us go?" said Minerva in disbelief, "That easily?"

The burly man eyed the prissy teen, surveying her. "I've been wanting to get away from my employer the moment I was in his service," he admitted, "For reasons I can't directly say, I was forced into the job without a choice. Both my guilt and my duties as a man have chained me into servitude. If I have a chance to, _any _chance to, I will escape from my Master. As bad as it is for a Butler to say. But this is a special circumstance. And this, this offer, is finally my golden chance to escape."

Butler gazed at his uncle, wondering what in the world could have "chained him down" like he said. Could it be true? Could he possibly have a girl, perhaps even a wife, secretly? There was no way to say. He would have to ask him later, when they weren't facing their imminent doom.

"So you'll join our side?" Juliet asked, her eyes glittering with hope, hands clasped to her chest.

"That depends," sighed the Major, "Are you going to freak out and hug me again if I say yes?"

Juliet, taking that as a yes, promptly freaked out and attacked the poor giant in a flurry of hugs.

"Well then," smiled the cloaked man, "Now that that's settled, let's get out of this metal death trap and save Arty, shall we?"

* * *

**So, how'd you like it? It was a little hard getting back in the writing style, so sorry if I sounded a little different. But did you enjoy it? Did you like the development of the Major character? There's more surprises from him coming up later :) But anyway, leave me a comment on how you thought my chapter went today, if you liked it or not. Also, feel free to tell me your feelings on if I am too old or not to be writing Artemis fanfics, lol :P I appreciate any feedback! Thanks! -Misiek :D  
**


	23. The Tides Turn

**Yay! I'm back again! That was quick, wasn't it? Well, this chapter is a bit shorter than my usual ones. I didn't plan it that way, it just kinda turned out shorter. Oh, well! That doesn't mean it isn't exciting, right? i guess you'll find out :) Anyway, just finished my last day of High School today! Yesssss! It feels so awesome :D But I know I'll miss it. Loads. Especially once I see the workload I'll be getting in college... lol, sort of... Gah, at least I have one last summer to relax, right? :P**

* * *

The misfit gang- three Butlers, one girl, one elf, and one mysterious cloaked man- stepped out into the hallway through a burnt hole in the wall conveniently the size of a doorway. The hallway was straight and futuristic, just like the room they had just exited, and gave them two choices: left or right. The cloaked man stood for a moment, seemingly getting his bearings, then turned to the gang with a grin Holly sincerely hoped wasn't crazed.

"Alright," he declared, "Time to split up."

"Split up?" repeated Butler. He didn't like the sound of that. Every voice inside his head was screaming to stick together, especially in this situation. You split up when you were on the offensive. Or when you knew there was no chance that all of your crew would survive, and you split groups in the hopes that one group would escape unharmed. Butler knew the foremost wasn't true, and he certainly hoped the latter wasn't the case.

The cloaked man nodded. "Two groups," he said, "Me in one. Fairy girl, blond girl, other blond girl, giant man, and the even larger man in the second."

"So, basically, you're saying you're going on alone," summed up Holly grimly.

"Yes. Precisely," exclaimed the cloaked man, seemingly pleased that they had understood, "It is my priority that all the prisoners escape at this time, so that our enemy no longer has the leverage of hostages. Meanwhile, I will go find Artemis, and stop my mad apprentice. Okay?"

"Not okay," said Juliet, "How're we supposed to find our way out of here?"

The man gestured to the Major with a flourish. Holly stared.

"You trust him?" she cried, "Two minutes ago, the guy was ready to beat you into a pulp!"

"I trust him," admitted the fire-controller, "He seems like a kind enough man. Just mixed up in the wrong business. Besides…" he shifted knowingly, "I've known him longer than two minutes. And you trust _me_. I've only known you since I barged through the wall a few minutes ago. Or rather, you've known me…"

"That's different," objected Minerva, "It's not like we had a choice as to whether to believe you or not. It was either stay captured, or trust in your words. Not a very difficult decision, _oui_?"

"And besides," rumbled Butler, "Did you even ask our uncle if he's willing to guide us out?"

The cloaked man turned to the Major. "Are you willing?"

The Major sighed. "Well, I've gone this far…"

"Then it's settled! Problem solved!"

The cloaked man turned to the right and began to march down the hallway.

"No! It's not 'problem solved'!" snapped Holly, "Get back here!"

The cloaked man sighed and turned, as if to say, "What now?".

"_You_ may trust the Major, but _I_ sure don't," she glared with her blue-and-hazel eyes, "What if, instead of leading us to the exit, he leads us to a trap? How do we get out then?"

The fire controller paused to think of her statement.

"Then you follow my trail of destruction out of here. That should lead you to the exit. And, oh, yes," he realized, "If the Major is chasing you, run. Fast."

And he turned and left the mystified elf, heading off down the straight, white, slightly lit hallway. Holly was too stunned to reply. Instead, she turned to the Major.

He sighed. "Ah, well," he murmured, "Better get going. Follow me."

* * *

"Oh, this is just too good," smiled Aiden, shaking his head in disbelief, "I work on my plan for half a decade, and he decides to wait until I'm completely finished to put a stop to it. Well, I've rather had enough of _him_."

Artemis was slowly backing away from the teen. He was glad that his enemy was distracted. For a while there, he was certain that his life was flashing before his eyes. Maybe that's why he was getting those weird memories from long ago. He tried to think of a plan to stop Aiden, a plan that would put him on the offensive. He wasn't hopeful that he would think of one, given the current situation, though.

"And it seems that my employee has betrayed me. I'm not that surprised. The Major wasn't exactly the most supportive of my plans. He'll soon regret that choice. But that also means that any robots that I send after my prisoners are worthless, since he knows the tricks to deactivating them… Oh, well, I can live with not having hostages… And- ho! Just what do you think you're doing?"

He had turned to find himself at gunpoint. Artemis had grabbed the discarded weapon during his little monologue, having recovered it from where he last dropped it after "popping" Aiden's water bubble, and was pointing it at the other boy with stubborn determination glittering in his icy eyes.

"My mistake," shrugged Aiden, looking disappointed with himself, "I should learn to talk to myself less and pay attention to my prisoners more."

"I'd advise you not to move," warned Artemis, as steady as a stone, "Not unless you'd like another hole to use all the time besides your mouth."

The blond-haired child gave a bark of laughter, though the situation for him seemed less than funny. "Clever joke," said Aiden, "But don't think for a minute that I believe your words have any truth to them. I know you better than that."

"Do you?" said Artemis, his lips tightening.

"You couldn't hurt a fly," grinned Aiden, "You had the option of taking over the entirety of fairy world. Of hacking into them and shutting them down forever. Or, better yet, revealing them to the human world, and making millions that way. The ultimate power. Yet you didn't, even though a Fowl's motto in life is "Aurum Est Potestas"- gold is power. Why is this?"

Artemis glared, his hands tightening around the revolver.

"It's because you couldn't, isn't it? You couldn't put a billion little fairy lives in jeopardy, just for your sake. In fact, it hurts you to even put _one_ life in jeopardy for your sake, these days, by the looks of it. Doesn't it?"

"Why don't you keep talking and find out?"

Aiden grinned, but the ice in Artemis' blue eyes made him shut up. He, having known Artemis since childhood, knew that the kid was an oddball. Not that he himself was much better. Yet at least he, as a child, talked and played. Artemis never did that. The thing about oddballs was that they were unpredictable. That meant that with a gun in their hand, they were definitely dangerous. Hadn't every mob movie under the sun taught him that?

"Good," said Artemis, outwardly cold but inwardly hopeful. Perhaps he had finally gotten the upper hand?…

He saw it out of the corner of his eye, and for a split second, realized his mistake. But that was all he had time to do. A sharp, glittering object- a spike of ice, sharpened and deadly- had been magically formed from the water soaked into the rug previously. And it was thrown straight towards his chest. It was too late to move, to late to do anything-

Yet a bright, red light flew up in front of Artemis, destroying the ice pick in an instant. Artemis turned toward the light, amazed, for all this had happened in an umpteenth of a second, and he barely had time to process what had just occurred. Aiden had tried, once again to kill him. But he failed. Fire had stopped him.

The-one-who-controls-fire was standing in the doorway of the fake Fowl Manor, his black cloak swaying around him in a heroic manner. He had arrived just in time, and didn't look pleased at what he was seeing.

"Welcome," said Aiden, risking turning his head at gunpoint to see his ominous visitor.

The fire-man glared beneath the shadows of his cloak. "I'm not happy with what I'm seeing," he admitted, "But I can't exactly say I'm not surprised. It's my fault, I suppose."

"Is it?" grinned Aiden, "You won't give me any of the honor of having designed my master plan for the last five years?"

"No, I'll give you that," admitted The-one-who-controls-fire. He paused. "But the honor will be all mine in destroying it."

* * *

**Annnddd... end of chapter :D Surprise, surprise, another cliffy. Just to keep my readers interested ;) Anyways, please review! I only got one from the last chapter, and I really need some criticism and support. Even if you just say, "good chapter," or even, "wow this sucked so bad it made my eyes burn," I will be happy :) Just drop me a note... OK I'll stop begging now :P Have a nice day, or night, or whatever!**


	24. Underwater Battle

"Let's make this quick," said the hooded man, "I really won't relish this."

Aiden smiled, and said, "Don't get cocky. Though you've got years of experience on me, I know the facts about this building more than you do. And knowing your surroundings is key."

"We'll see," muttered the man with the cloak, then said to Artemis, "I suggest you stay out of the way. It will make this easier."

"Are you sure? I do have a gun pointed right at him."

"No thanks."

Aiden laughed. "I wouldn't trust him with that aim, either," he sneered.

"I was going to say because I don't want to kill you, just to beat you and shame you mercilessly in submission," explained the master.

Aiden stopped smiling. "Let's see you try," he growled, finally getting serious.

Artemis backed away from the two, still keeping his gun pointed, toward the doorway of the ornate hall. He realized that there wouldn't be much use in escaping totally from the building, as he had no idea how to do so, but he could at least try to return to the white room and warn his friends of the danger. And tell them who Aiden actually was, once he got the chance. He bet that they were pretty eager to find out that by now.

"You do realize that I'm not letting you leave that easily," said Aiden. His eyes flashed.

A groaning sound grew from the walls, starting of quietly, then growing to the sound of a dozen falling trees.

"Hey!" snapped the cloak man, realizing what was happening at the last moment.

The man flung himself at Artemis, but it was too late. Suddenly, the walls exploded, and water sprayed out, as if it were the crumbling stone wall of a poorly made dam. All four walls blew in, spraying gallons of the liquid into the room and quickly flooding it. Artemis found himself underwater, the breath pummeled from his lungs as the water beat down on him.

It appeared that Aiden had designed the building so that the walls were laden with pressurized pipes, just waiting for him to call water into at any moment that he needed, causing them to strain, and, eventually, explode, entrapping his victim. In this case, it was Artemis. _Very clever,_ thought Artemis as he found himself carried down further underwater by the current, _touché_. Surprisingly, he was calm as the water line grew higher and higher above him. He figured that there were so many times that he had nearly drowned, by now it was just a habit. His body sunk to the floor. The scenery grew dark around him as the cloudy water grew thicker. He was out of breath, and nearly out of time.

Suddenly he saw a circle of red light explode through the thick ahead of him. The ball grew larger and larger until it finally engulfed him. Artemis involuntarily gasped as warmth flooded through his body, and, surprisingly, he found that his lungs were filled with air. Steamy air, but still breathable.

"What-?" he stammered, shocked, but then he remembered who he was with. The man-who-controls-fire.

"I call this my 'Ring of Fire,'" the man smiled, "Get it?"

Artemis, just glad he could breathe again, gazed about the sphere in awe, "The heat is making a thin wall where the water evaporates, between the water and the air inside, creating a kind of underwater bubble. Astonishing."

"Clearly my joke fell on deaf ears. Ah, well. Now where did that bugger go?" the man looked around, as if the muggy water would magically point him to where the hidden genius was. "Blast," he said.

"You mean he's still in this room? But it's flooded!"

"Yes, but you are forgetting that he has total control over water. He can manipulate it so that the oxygen bubbles rise to his mouth and nose. In other words, he can breathe as well as a fish."

"Well, in that case, he's clearly got the upper hand so far," said Artemis.

"Thank you, Mister Genius," sighed the cloaked master. "If I could just get him close enough, this would be an easy battle. Unfortunately… Isn't it ironic how students always seem to turn on their masters? Whoever said teaching was a rewarding job was a liar."

Artemis looked about. "Surely he's not just planning on waiting this out. He must have something up his sleeve…"

"Well, I think that was his plan B to kill you by drowning, which he made promptly after I arrived and destroyed his plan A: killing you with his revolver. I'm just waiting for him to come up with a plan C. Or rather, I'm hoping to find him before then. Besides, this is kind of exhausting holding the bubble thing up, so we have to do something before I run out of energy."

"That's O.K. I work well when I'm running out of time. Or rather, it seems, I'm always running out of time when I have to work well…"

"Good. Well, what I know is this kid clearly wants you, so you can be good bait."

"Naturally," agreed Artemis, "But what are you suggesting?"

"I say you make your way to the door. It can't be too far from here, in _that_ direction. So we let you out, and he'll know you're out there. He'll go after you. I'll wait until he exits, then roast him up when he leaves the safety of his indoor kiddy pool. Sound decent?"

"Sounds extremely simple, and faulty," said Artemis, "But it will have to do. We'll just have to hope that in his excitement, he forgets to see through our ruse."

"Agreed."

Artemis stood up and stared out into the murky waters, outside of the foggy little bubble he was in.

It looked cold.

"So, what are you waiting for?" said the man, "Please, do leave. I hate to, you know, burst your bubble, but this bubble will burst if you wait any longer."

"Ha," snapped Artemis, "But how do I get out? Do I just walk through? Will it pop?"

"The same way you came in. Just dive out. It'll be fine."

Artemis nodded. He took one last look in the warm, pleasant inside of the fire-made bubble, straightened his tie out of habit, took a deep breath and stepped out of the sphere.

It was as if he had just cannon-balled into a pool after being in a Jacuzzi. He struggled to keep his breath as the cold slammed into him. He needed to save every bit of oxygen he had. He began to swim his way sluggishly through the cloudy water. It was as if he was in the middle of a dream. The hallway that he once spent his childhood in, coming through piece by piece as the cloudy water permitted him to see them. All underwater. It was extremely bizarre. Yet, despite his dwindling oxygen supply, he was confident he knew where he was headed. After all, he had fifteen years of walking through the hallway to aid him on swimming through it. Soon, he was at the doorway. He reached out to grab the knob…

And found nothing.

_Of course,_ thought Artemis, _I'm not at home. I'm in Aiden's fortress, where the doors are mechanical and only open when he desires._ In their shortened time span, they had overlooked a crucial point. For a rare moment, Artemis felt like a complete idiot. But he had no time to feel like an idiot, for when Artemis swum around in a panic, he saw Aiden, walking as though he weren't underwater, not ten feet behind him. And he had a smirk on his face.

_Found you_, he mouthed.

A normal person would have gasped in horror, but Artemis knew better. One, that was too cliché. Two, he needed to save his air. Instead, his body tensed up, his fists clenching. And to his surprise, he remembered something very important.

The gun was still in his hand.

Without hesitation this time, he swung his arm up, as swiftly as he could underwater, and shot at Aiden.


	25. One Shot

**I'm back! And after only two months this time :) haha anyways, I was looking back at my old chapters... Why didn't anyone bother to explain to me the difference between the words loose and lose? :C I'm embarrassed... haha But here goes! The chappie you've been waiting for- the one where Artemis and Aiden finally finish their duel :D... Enjoy!**

The bullet tunneled through the water, like a spiraling drill, and pierced straight through Aiden's shoulder. A nice shot. 15 years of observing Butler had taught Artemis well. Aiden recoiled in pain, and an ominous cloud of dark red began to leak into the water behind him. He gripped his wounded shoulder, momentarily distracted.

Artemis wasted no time. He whirled about and faced the doorway, the lack of oxygen beginning to create a painful ache in his lungs. Pressing his hands to the cold metal, he exhaled, the last of his precious air floating to the ceiling in a flurry of bubbles, and, once again, shut off all of his senses, willing his magic to open the door. This time the task was much easier, to his relief. He didn't think he had the time to spare to wonder how to open the portal a second time. The door slid open, and Artemis had one extremely brief moment to be thrilled with his success.

Then, just like pulling the plug on a bathtub, the water was sucked out in a swirling vortex, taking Artemis and Aiden with it.

The raven-haired boy was thrown out into the hallway, crashing into what could either be ceiling, floor, or walls- or all of them at once, he really had no idea. His vision went blinding white, but Artemis figured he wasn't missing much besides a chaos of water swirling around him as he barreled to God-knows-where. He was spinning around for ages… it may have been days, months, years- Artemis estimated- or, more reasonably, no less than a couple of minutes, at least. He was able to get fleeting breaths of air when he scraped through the surface of the flood, every once in a while. Just barely surviving.

And then, as quickly as it had begun when Artemis opened the door, the swirling ebbed to a stop, and Artemis found himself being laid, surprisingly gently, onto the white-colored hallway floor. He inhaled, the first breath he had taken in what seemed like an eternity, then promptly began to hack up the gallon of water that had entered his lungs during his escape. _Charming_, he managed to think as he spat out the liquid. His ribs strained at the coughing, and Artemis could tell they had not taken well to him crashing against the walls. Oh, he would be bruised tomorrow. If he survived until tomorrow…

And with that thought, Artemis suddenly snapped back to realization. He jumped to his feet, eyes scanning the hallway in a panic, looking for his assaulter. But he needn't have worried. Aiden was lying ten feet away from him, in a good two inches of water that had flooded the room. The boy was knocked out cold. It appeared that the combination of being shot in a vital area and thrown about in a swirling vortex of water like a ragdoll was too much stress for his mind to handle at once. Artemis took a cautious step closer, then another, surveying Aiden.

His hair had been mussed about in the water, and Artemis found it to be longer than he had thought. And in his sleep, Artemis noted, all emotion had disappeared from his face. He looked peaceful, for the first time since he had met him… Or at least for as long as he could remember.

Just then, Artemis's mind sparked up again. It was what Artemis assumed, now, to be the young Aiden and himself, once again in Fowl Manor. Artemis was relaxed in a winged chair, and Aiden sat at a grand piano. "Your books are boring," pouted the little Scottish boy, "Not as cool as my piano." The child Artemis seemed unfazed at the challenging insult, and proceeded to ignore his acquaintance and continue reading. Registering his failed attempt, Aiden turned back to his piano and began to play- and play he did. A beautiful sonata, complex and delicate, and exquisite to listen to. It was far beyond the realms of a boy his age, yet there he sat, playing it as if it was nothing, and Artemis reacting like this were an everyday occurrence. It seemed as though Aiden was, among other things, terribly gifted with music… And the look on the boy's face was one of utter peace.

"Ooh, wow. This is just too easy."

Artemis snapped out of his reverie, to find the-one-who-controls fire standing above Aiden, securing what appeared to be a heavily drenched curtain tieback around the boy's wrists- a makeshift handcuff.

"Nice work, Artemis. Apart from the whole spacing out thing. You should probably work on not recalling old memories while your mortal enemy is lying defenseless in front of you. I'm just saying."

"You know… you know that my memories are gone."

"Of course I do," said the fire-man, slinging the lifeless Aiden over his shoulder, like he was a sack of potatoes, "I was the one who took them away originally." He paused, checking to see that Aiden wasn't bleeding all over his cloak. "Of course, you'll probably be subject to those flashbacks every once in a while. Just try not to let them control you, okay? We should probably leave now, anyways."

The cloaked man started walking down the hallway, seemingly toward the exit of the building.

"C'mon, Artemis," he called over his shoulder, "Let's get out of here before this bastard wakes up again."

Yet the absence of splashing feet in water told the fire-man that Artemis wasn't moving.

"Oh, what now," he groaned, turning and facing Artemis quizzically. One look at Artemis's face and he realized what was up. The boy's face was blank, yet his blue eyes were pure ice.

"You," said Artemis, "You took away my memories."

"Um, yes…" said the cloaked man, "And, ah, thinking back on it, now was probably not the best time to bring that up into conversation… Was it?"

Artemis didn't move. His face was like stone.

"Why?"

The man sighed. Realizing that Artemis was probably not going to move until he explained, he slowly took Aiden off of his shoulders and set him down on the wet floor again.

"I cannot fully tell you why."

"Then, forgive me for being completely stupid by saying so, but we are not going anywhere."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," groaned the mysterious person, "This kid could wake up at any moment. And when he does, we'll be right back to being in as much danger as we were before. You are saying, essentially, that you would rather die than leave here without knowing why your memories were taken."

"Not entirely correct," replied Artemis simply, "This is just a business technique. If we leave here, I have the feeling that you may never tell me why you took my memories away- as you might have no strong reason to. Now is the sole chance for me to obtain that knowledge. And if that puts me in danger, then so be it. Danger is really nothing new for me. Believe me, I have had my memories taken from me once- I will not have it happen to me again. At least, not without knowing why."

The man groaned, and rubbed his hidden face. "You," he said, pointing at Artemis, "You were much less of a pain as a child, you know that? But all right. I'll strike you a kind of a deal. I cannot tell you why I took your memories away. I just can't right now. However, I can do what I consider the next best thing. I suppose I could give you them back… Would that suffice?"

Artemis blinked, stunned for a few seconds. "… Are you serious?"

"Ah, well, by the looks of things, with your flashbacks and all, the spell is breaking. You're going to get them back to you eventually, anyways. And I really see no point in you not having them anymore, considering the present circumstances."

"… Why, in God's name, did you take them away in the first place then?" Artemis said in a furious voice, "Where's the point in taking my memories away, then just giving them back?"

"Ah, I told you, I can't tell you why," pointed out the cloaked man, "Just take them back and let's leave. Would that be fine with you?"

Artemis gaped. The man was clearly nuts. Completely crazy. But then again, at this point… who really cared? He closed his mouth, ran his hand through his soaked, black hair, and nodded in resignation.

"Fine," Artemis said, as if he were settling for a lesser product than he had paid for, simply out of the good of his heart, "If you wish, I'll take my memories back, and we can leave."

"Glad to see you're in agreement," said the cloaked man, hiding a smirk, "Now, let's make this quick."

He walked forward to Artemis, leaned down, and put his hands on Artemis's temples. The Fowl noted that his fingertips were unnaturally warm, borderline on the sensation of hot.

"Now, my powers are of fire, so this should just feel like warmth traveling through your mind," explained the man, "At least, the last couple of times I tried erasing memories, no one has ever looked like they were in pain, so I'm assuming that's the sensation you will feel. I actually have no idea, myself. Then again, I have only erased memories, never returned them… Anyways, it should be over in a second. Then we can leave here, all hunky-dory. You ready?"

"Hang on-" said Artemis, preparing to brace himself.

"Good," said the cloaked man, and released his magic into Artemis's mind, unlocking his memories and the truth of his past.

* * *

"We made it!" cried Juliet, stepping outside the building and flopping into the grass, "Finally, we're outta that hellhole!" She paused, then lifted her head enough so that she could say to the Major, "No offense, uncle."

"None taken. Seriously," he said, "And consider yourselves lucky that it was me taking you out. Anyone else, and those soldiers would be attacking you, considering you as foreigners, and thus as enemies."

The group eyed the closest platoon of soldiers, who were marching about their business as though they were invisible. There were at least twenty metal-men, just in that one group. Juliet shuddered in appreciation of the danger.

"Well, what now?" said Holly, ever looking forward. She surveyed the scene. The proverbial "front yard" of the fortress was as they had left it, even the sun was still shining- except it was far closer to the west than its previous home in the east. Its beams of light hit the leaves of the trees in the forest not far off, making them shine and glitter in the cool breeze that passed. Altogether, it was a gorgeous day. That is, if Artemis were not currently still trapped in the giant metal death-trap with a crazed assassin.

"Well, there isn't much to do, besides wait. And before you say, 'what was the point of leaving if we were just going to wait anyways'…" said the Major as he looked at the clear objection on Holly's face, "I think I should remind you that my boss is not an idiot. He has booby-trapped his fortress like- well, like a fortress. You go back inside, and it's likely that you never return to see the light of day again. Just be glad you got out safe."

"But what about Artemis, then?" cried Minerva, "He's still inside! What's his fate to be?"

"I don't know," answered Uncle Butler honestly, "But with that man going after him, there's a chance that he may be saved. If he could get into the building, then he could find Artemis and get him out. He just has to overpower the master."

"That actually made me feel better," admitted Holly, "Overpowering a teenage kid sounds pretty easy, once he's found him. Especially for the guy who can burn metal into a crisp."

The Major didn't say anything, but his face, despite appearing blank, told Butler of his secret.

"That boy still has something up his sleeve, doesn't he?" growled Butler, "I seriously doubt that he's helpless."

"… Let's just say that I hope Artemis knows how to swim," replied the Major.

"Swim?" said Butler, his eyes narrowing, "Was the man we talked to earlier correct? Does this kid really plan to drown Artemis?"

"You never know with my master," said the uncle solemnly, "But it would be safe to bet that drowning would be among Artemis's worries right about now."

"And what makes you say that?" asked Holly, "Do you know something about that genius' plan that we don't?"

"Ah, I don't know much," replied the giant, "But that's a big hint."

He was pointing toward the now closed entrance to the building, about twenty-five feet away from them. Water was ominously spraying out of cracks where the metal doorway met the wall, as though water was pressurized behind the slab.

"What the-" murmured Juliet, but before she could finish, the door slid open, and a wave of water toppled through the opening, flooding the lawn with the liquid, as well as mingled robots and various parts of shorted machinery. It seemed as though one of the bots had managed to press the button to open the door when slammed against it by the flood. The water spread out, seemingly endless, continuing to pour from the opening for a good minute before it slowed to a stop, leaving the lawn a semi-swamp, and the five characters stunned, watching.

"… hell…" Juliet finished a minute later, breaking the awed silence.

Everyone turned their shocked gazes from the doorway to the Major. He blinked.

"Don't look at me," he said, waving frying-pan sized hands in front of him in a gesture of denial, "I have just about as much knowledge about what just happened as you do. My guess is, my master tried to drown Artemis by breaking the main pipes in the central control room with all the doors shut, so that the room would fill… And…"

"And?" said Holly.

"… Someone opened… the door…" he slowly said, realizing how flawed his master's plan must seem now, "… Yes, that would be my guess…"

"Dear god," said Holly, massaging her brow with her hand, "Are all genius' this idiotic?"

"I would assume so," replied the Major, "Young genius' in general tend to lack the crucial personality trait known as wisdom."

"You're telling me," grumbled Butler.

They all paused in thought, gazing at the increasingly muddy scene around them.

"There's one thing I don't understand," said Butler eventually, turning once again to the Major, "If Artemis was to be trapped in the central control room by filling water, and the water was eventually going to fill the room and drown him, then… Then, wouldn't that mean, to control the water the mastermind would have to be in the room with him, with the controls? How would he do it without drowning himself?"

"Let me explain this by telling you what you already know," said the Major, "Artemis seems to have a gift where, when he comes in contact with certain persons, he gives them magic. Minerva has been given the power to control the wild. Our mysterious man has been given the power to control fire. My master has a mysterious vendetta against Artemis, something about doing him certain wrongs… Wouldn't it be safe to assume that one of those wrongs was giving him the gift-or a curse, however you put it- of magic? Specifically, a magic that controls-."

"-Water," finished Holly, gaping in realization, "A magic that controls water. Holy hells…"

"Nice induction," congratulated Major, "Spot on."

Again, they sat for a few minutes. But this time it was a horrified silence. Water was a dangerous element not to have on your side

"Ahh, crap…" said Juliet in sudden realization, "And we're sitting in the middle of a mini-lake right now…"

"Oh, I wouldn't worry about that," said a familiar voice from the entrance to the fortress.

Everyone stared. There stood the three men, all soaking wet: the cloaked stranger, the bleeding and unconscious criminal slung over his shoulder, and Artemis looking none too pleased to be soaked, but otherwise unharmed.

Artemis blew a wet strand of hair out of his eyes, then said, "Long time, no see."

**Yayyy! The battle's over!- yet... I have to warn you, the story's far from done... In fact, I'd say we're... uhhhh... 1/3 the way done? At most? ahhhhh FML... but I reached over 10,000 hits the other day! :D So awesome! Thank you guys for all the support and reading you've done! I wouldn't have gotten this far without you and your reviews! I know I haven't been very consistent with my chapter updates, but I will do my best to remedy that :) And keep reading the story... It's only just begun ;)**


	26. Two Blue Eyes

**Updated- get this- _in less than 24 hrs_! Ha! Beat that! lol but seriously this chapter's a little more dialogue than the previous ones. I wrote it having just a vague idea of what I wanted to accomplish... basically a start and a finish... And it was interesting how the middle turned out :) I'm happy with it though, and I hope you are too. Enjoy!**

"Artemis," whispered Minerva, staring at the boy as if he was a ghost, "How…"

"Never mind, Minerva," said Holly, shaking her head, "Right now, I really don't want to know how he did it. Right now, I just want to get out of here. To someplace very dry. Very, very dry…" she eyed the unconscious criminal, "Just how much longer do you think he'll be knocked out for?"

"Considering his gunshot wound and the beating he took," pondered the cloaked man, "I'd say he should be out about five more minutes. But one good whack on the back of the head should solve that problem, if it comes to it."

Minerva winced at the thought of the blow to the head, but Holly looked shocked. "A gunshot wound?" she snapped, "Why didn't you tell me? He could bleed out!"

"Hah, yeah. In about a half an hour. It's a shot to the shoulder," snorted the cloaked man.

Holly gave him a death glare, one of pure ice. Even her amber eye seemed frozen. "Nobody. Is. Dying. Today," she said, "I've gotten this far without anyone dead. And I'm not going to let anyone die now. Now hand him over so I can heal him, half an hour or no."

Artemis looked at Holly, then turned to his teacher. "I suggest you hand Aiden over. I'm pretty sure Holly will murder you if you don't. From my past experience on these matters."

The fire-gifted man groaned, then rolled Aiden off of his shoulder, letting him drop unceremoniously into the mud, destroying the boy's white outfit for good. "I'm just saying he needs to learn that there are consequences to his actions. What you're doing here is just spoiling him. He'll never learn his lesson if you heal every single little gunshot wound he gets…"

Holly ignored him and crawled over to the boy. Juliet leaned over to get a closer look.

"So it's Aiden, eh?" she smiled, "He's kinda cute. You know, for a homicidal maniac."

Butler glared at her.

"What? I'm just saying," she muttered.

"Not a vital spot, but painful enough to immobilize him. It was a nice shot you took…." Holly paused, looking up, "What the heck do I call you? 'Fire-sensei' is way too clichéd for me, actually."

"Well, I have to think about a proper name actually. Been thinking of one for a while now, actually. And it wasn't me who shot him, it was Artemis."

Holly's jaw dropped. "Artemis? My god, did you forget the safety was off or something? I mean, you could've really injured someone. Oh wait… You did."

"Oh, ha. Just heal him," glared Artemis.

Holly grinned, enjoying the brief moment of humor amidst stress, then closed her eyes, summoning her magic. It was running low, but still strong, and still enough to heal the boy's injury and more. The green substance glittered around her hands, and danced to the gunshot wound, gently closing the hole with extraordinary speed. The piercing had healed, but Holly found her work wasn't done.

"His ribs are bruised really badly. Nearly cracked, actually. What in Frond's name happened in there? Did you get into a fistfight or something?"

"Not quite," said Artemis, massaging his own battered ribs, "Things just got a little… ah… complicated."

Holly's eyelids flickered, and Artemis knew she had just managed to roll her eyes while they were still closed.

"One more minute," she reassured, then dove in a little deeper into her world mixed with magic and the boy.

It seemed, though, that this time, she may have gone too far. She gasped. Though her eyes were closed, she found herself staring into the eyes of another.

_Artemis?_... she thought. But no. Those were no longer Artemis's eyes. Artemis had one blue, one brown. These were two cold, depths of sea. Two eyes filled with pain, agony, two eyes that had the same fearsome power of the ocean, yet with absolutely no control over this power, two eyes of a soul that had died long ago but seemed to be waiting for hope… Waiting for a person… But who? Who were those eyes waiting for?

_Holly Short._

As soon as she heard the voice, she was thrown into the hollows of the eyes, and found herself in a sea of water, drowning, drowning, and there was nothing she could do about it… She was terrified… But surprisingly, she was more than that she was sad- sad that such a soul could look like that, could be trapped in such power, with such eyes, and such pain… And she, the fairy who had magic to heal, could do nothing to fix him…

"Holly!"

She found someone gripping her shoulders.

"Holly! Holly, are you okay?" Holly turned to find Juliet crouched beside her.

"Y-yeah, I'm fine…" she insisted automatically, but was surprised to find her voice shaking badly. In fact, her entire body was trembling, as though she had actually almost died in those waters. She looked around to find everyone's eyes on her, staring with a mixture of horror, worry and shock on their faces.

"I'm fine," she repeated again, this time making sure her voice was steady, "I just-."

"Holly," said Artemis in a monotone voice.

"What?" snapped the elf.

"You're crying."

"I'm- what?" she said, shocked. She brought a hand to her cheek, and it came back wet. "What… No way…"

She gaped at her hand in disbelief, then whirled her head about at her acquaintances watching her, and felt her face flush bright red.

"I swear to the Gods," she said, "I have just about as much of an idea as to why I'm crying as you do. Honestly."

"Of course you don't," muttered a Scottish voice from beside her, "Your magic got mixed with mine, that's all."

Holly jumped up and away from the boy in a flash, all weakness from the incident gone.

Aiden winced and sat up, a difficult task with his hands tied behind him. "Didn't manage to heal my ribs at all, I see. Ah, well… My suit's ruined."

"Hold still now…" said the fire-man from behind him. He had stealthily inched closer to the red-haired teen, holding Artemis's revolver so that the butt stuck out from his hand. He raised his arm, prepping for the blow.

Aiden turned. "Whoa!" he shouted in alarm, and a giant wave of mud-water shot from the ground, blowing the cloaked man off of his feet, and into the mud a good fifteen feet from them, landing with a painful-sounding thud.

Artemis winced, having not moved during the incident. "Well done knocking him out, oh 'Fire-sensei'…"

But in the same instant, thick vines shot out of the ground and wound around Aiden, lifting him into a standing position and wrapping around him tightly, rendering him completely immobile and coating him in the plants.

"Don't you _dare _move again, _tu_ _Ecossais vaseux_," snarled Minerva, "Or I'll tighten these vines 'till you can't breathe anymore. _ C'est compris_?"

Aiden blinked at the curly-haired girl. "_Qu'est-ce qui te reticent?"_ he replied.

Minerva gasped, then clenched her jaw. "Do not test me."

"_Qu'est ce qu'une jolie fille tu avais, _Artemis. _Mais, je pr__é__f__è__re les filles gentiles, si possible."_

There was a sickening crunching noise as the vines tightened.

"_Ma thoracique," _hissed Aiden through clenched teeth, then his eyes rolled back in his head and he passed out once more, head falling limply on the vines that had wrapped around his broken chest.

Holly sighed, "The point was to not injure him very badly, Minerva…" she murmured.

"Oh, well. You have to admit he deserved it," the girl replied, pushing her glasses up her nose daintily.

Meanwhile, the cloaked man was slyly trying to regain his dignity by brushing off what mud he could from his coat, after he had recovered the breath that had been knocked out of his lungs from the fall. He trudged back over to the group.

"Is he unconscious? Excellent. Well, then, might as well take him someplace where he can't harm us, and a place where we can be comfortable. Any suggestions?"

"Wait a sec," said Juliet, "We still have no idea who the hell this kid is. Mind filling us in? You know, if you feel like it?"

"Actually," said Artemis, stroking his chin in thought, "The fact that you don't know already tells me that the man-who-controls-fire has been busier than I thought."

"… Yes. I do need to get a better name," decided the cloaked man.

"What do you mean?" asked Butler.

"I'm saying he erased my mind. And he must have erased yours and Juliet's, as well."

"Erased our minds?" gaped Juliet, "He can do that? You sure it wasn't Foaly?"

"There's no way anyone, even a human with magic, can simply destroy memories. It just doesn't work that way," objected Holly.

"He merely suppressed the memories, I assume. Didn't you?" said Artemis. He turned to the man, expecting him to explain his actions, for once.

"… There really is no simple, catchy name for 'man-who-controls-fire' in Latin, or in any language, for that matter… That's no good…"

"Hang on," growled Butler, his hackles instantly up, "I don't give a damn about me. But you touched my sister, Juliet, and erased her memories? Did I get that right?"

The cloaked man, sensing imminent danger, wisely snapped out of his reverie and finally engaged in the conversation.

"To be fair, at the time, you were fine with it. I asked your permission, actually. The only person whom I didn't ask permission to take memories away was Artemis, and that was because he was way too young and immature to ever want his memories taken away, for any reason. No offense, Artemis."

"It was five years ago. None taken," replied Artemis.

"I will explain all that I can, when the time is right. More specifically, when we get into shelter that isn't made from some kind of steel and isn't guarded by a bunch of tin men without brains, like some kind of nightmare L. Frank Baum would have. Is that okay with you all?"

"… No," Butler replied, staring at the man knowingly.

The cloaked man groaned, rubbing the top of his hood in a frustrated manner. "I swear, one of these days I will obtain acquaintances who won't blackmail me every time they want something and I want to get out of imminent danger… Fine, I will return your memories as soon as we leave. My word as a Seraphim. I promise."

"What the hell is a Seraphim?" pouted Juliet, arms crossed.

"My word as a _magician_. That good enough for you? Please let it be good enough for you…"

After a pause, Butler announced, "It's good enough for me."

"Great! Excellent!" the fire-man cried, throwing his hands up into the air in exasperated celebration, "Let's go then! Minerva, would you do the honors?"

Minerva glared at the beaten-up criminal, bounded into a permanent standing position, but then sighed dejectedly and waved her hand, as though giving up a precious treat. The vines slithered quickly back into the ground, leaving the boy to crumble into an unconscious heap.

"Where are we going?" pointed out Holly, trying hard to forget (and let everyone else forget) her earlier embarrassment.

"I assumed either underground to Haven or back to Fowl Manor. Aren't those your usual roaming grounds? But anywhere where we can throw this kid into a confined space with little to no plumbing around him would do just fine, actually."

"We can go back to Fowl Manor," sighed Artemis, deciding to give in to peer pressure for the first time in his life. He ran his hand through his still-dripping hair, "I have just the prison to put him in."

"Yes, I am familiar with that cell," winced Holly.

It appeared, Holly assumed, that Aiden was going to be tossed into the very same cell Holly was captured in three (or six, however you looked at it) years ago, back in the days where Artemis still believed in the phrase _Aurum est Potestas_.

My, that cell was starting to become famous.

**I will say this once, yet entirely in caps, because I failed to say it in this in the previous chapter and that seemed to lead people to believe that I do not like knowing people are reading my story but... REVIEW! Please, I thrive on the stuff! They are my food, my sleep- my milk chocolate bar, for life's sake! I cannot live without them :x Please do it! Thank you and keep on reading!**


	27. The Legend of the Seraphim

**I'm back :D I didn't even bother to check when my last update was. I don't wanna feel the guilt... lol But here is, I think, the longest chapter I have written yet, to make up for it! However- WARNING- Though it is the longest chapter, and has little action in it, and is possibly (actually really probably) long and rambling, and is SOOO tempting to just skim through, it is a VITAL chapter to the fanfic. Skim through it, and you may not understand the rest of the story! Just warnin' ya :P But now that I've got that outta the way, I hope you enjoy, and, as always, review! :P **

* * *

The misfit gang casually walked out of the fortress property far more simply than they had walked in. The guards did not even give them a second glance as they cautiously tip-toed by. Of course, it seemed to help that the Major was an impossible man to identify, being at least a foot taller than the average human. The only person who came relatively close to his stature was the other Butler male, yet even he seemed off of the Major's grandeur by a mere inch, a fact Domovoi did his best to disguise. The Major had decided to be the one to carry the mauled Aiden out of the campus, despite his slight hatred of the boy. One could say he took pity, in the particularly gentle way he held the teen, but if asked, he would simply reply that he was keeping the boy alive for questioning. And that Butler's do not feel pity.

"Now, I'm assuming you have some mode of transportation parked nearby," the cloaked man commented, marching in between the Major and Artemis.

"Yes," replied the Fowl, "We have an off-terrain vehicle parked about half a mile away from here. Only one problem."

"And that is?"

"It seats a maximum of five."

The fire-man sighed. "Naturally," he said, "Well planned."

"Excuse us. We thought we were only bringing back Minerva," said Juliet, pouting, "Much less you. Much less my uncle. Much less the evil mastermind we set out to defeat in the first place."

"Okay, I get your point. I guess we'll have to figure out a way to get everyone transported."

"We could always just tie the Scotsman to the roof of the car," said Holly with hopeful sarcasm.

The cloaked man laughed. "I like you," he admitted to the elf, "But no. Major, you have an entire fortress back there. Got a car you could follow us in?"

"Actually, yes. Plenty of cars. I'd be happy to take some bodies with me, if you'd like, as well."

"I don't like the way he says 'bodies'," murmured Minerva suspiciously.

"I just meant that I have extra seats," said the senior Butler, "I don't wish to harm anyone anymore. My master has been defeated, and even so, my loyalty to him was, truly, not that deep."

"The Major is right," said the cloaked man, "We must learn to trust him if we want him as an asset. And believe me- we want him as an asset."

"Thanks…" replied the Major, unsure to take the comment as a complement or not.

"In fact, how about we allow a little family reunion?" said Fire-Sensei with a wink, "Juliet, Butler and the other Butler can serve as guards to make sure our little demon doesn't come back to life and wreak havoc. They can travel in the car that Major will fetch. Artemis, Minerva, the fairy and I can travel in another."

"I have a name you know,"

"Yes. It begins with an 'H.' Harriet, right?"

_So much for liking me_, Holly thought sulkily.

"And that won't be necessary," rumbled Butler, "There's no need for a reunion."

"Ah! Don't say that!" cried out Juliet. She dove at her older brother, clinging to his arm, "I want to be with Uncle! We haven't seen him in eight years! That's a hell of a long time, bro. Please?"

Domovoi looked at his sister, his eyes still saying _no_.

Juliet stared right back, using all her sisterly charm to evoke pity.

"Brother…" she said in a clearly overdramatic, trembling voice, "You remember what happened the last time we let Uncle out of our sight?"

Butler winced. His sister had him at the first word, the end of the sentence served only to hurt him more. He sighed.

"… So be it," he growled.

A chuckle from behind them made Butler turn.

"You haven't changed at all," said the Major with a wise grin, "She still has you wrapped around your finger, doesn't she?"

Butler's eyes sparked dangerously at his uncle, but the man didn't lose his smile. He turned back toward the fortress, the red-head still lying limply in his arms. "Let's go," he said, "No point in waiting here any longer."

"Well said," admitted the cloaked man, "Artemis or Holly, lead the way to the car, if you'd please. Miss Minerva, please follow."

"Oh, so I'm not Harriet anymore, am I?" grumbled Holly, "Lousy mudperson and his lies…"

The two groups split up, heading their separate ways, to the sole destination of Fowl Manor.

* * *

Holly climbed up into the car, not at all pleased to once again be riding in a human's metal death trap.

"I could always fly, you know," she pointed out to Artemis.

"Yes," interjected the man-who-controls-fire, "But, actually, the splitting of these groups was not entirely for the Butler's to get back together. More likely, it was to catch you two up to speed."

"And by you two, you mean…?" questioned Holly.

"You, and Minerva," said the man, sliding into the driver's seat, "How the heck do you start this thing? I know for a fact that there are no keys…"

Minerva scanned the dash. He was right. Though riddled with various gadgets and controls that did God-knows-what to the car, there seemed to be no ignition.

"One moment," replied Artemis, and stuck his palm out onto a smooth plate, in the middle of the dashboard. It seemed to sense the heat of his hand, and a line of blue light appeared on the plate and slid down, scanning Artemis's palm.

The car revved to life, its powerful engine roaring. "Welcome, Master Fowl," a women's computerized voice greeted.

"Much more convenient than a set of keys," said Artemis, "And no-one can steal my hand, as well- not without a fight, anyways."

"Tell that to Jon Spiro," Holly said, rolling her eyes.

"Anyways," said the cloaked man, pulling the car gently onto the wood's narrow, grassy pathway, "I have a lot to fill you two in with. It has come to my attention that you have absolutely no idea what has been going on."

"Has it now?" Minerva said, "Funny how you could sense that."

"Ha. Do you want me to explain or not? Because if you want me to explain, you've got to try and hold back all the snide remarks. I hate those. Especially when I'm trying to help the commenter."

"Wait- But what about Butler and Juliet? And, I suppose, the Major? Don't they need filling in as well?"

"They will be filled in when I return their memories to them," said the teacher simply.

"Wait- the Major's mind was wiped, too? Why did you do that?" asked Artemis.

"For the same reason I wiped everyone else's mind, I suppose. A reason I will get to if you let me speak. Can you do that for me?"

Everyone was quiet in the car in response- a miracle considering the people who were in it.

"Good. Well done," said the cloaked man, "Now, where should I begin?"

After a pause, Artemis said, "I suppose you should start from the legend. I mean, that's where you started for me, back when we first met."

"You mean, a couple of months ago?" asked Holly.

"Try eighteen years," replied the fire-man, "Artemis couldn't remember our true first meeting before, but he's gotten his memory back since then. I first met Artemis only a few days after he was born."

Minerva gaped. Holly whistled.

"Man, I can't even imagine an infant Artemis. Sounds like a nightmare to me," the fairy said.

"Again with the remarks. If you have nothing valid to say, don't say it at all."

"Yes, Holly," backed up Artemis, "That certainly wasn't important, much less relevant."

"Although she was entirely correct," continued the teacher, "You were a nightmare growing up. Horrible toddler years."

Artemis glared at the driver.

"Continuing on… The legend… Well, Holly and Minerva, what do you know about the creation of the Earth?"

"Isn't the point of religion that no-one knows?"

"You're thinking of the creation of the universe entirely. The Earth- simply the rock we are standing on- is well researched, and it is thought that we generally know how the Earth was formed, although we can never truly be sure. We have estimated the time of its birth- about four-and-a-half billion years ago. It is believed that the Earth was crumbled together from millions of asteroids, gathering from the gravity field of the nearby solar nebula."

"We've all taken earth science before. That's secondary school-level education. Moving on," said Minerva.

"Sorry, Miss Know-It-All. Did your secondary school ever tell you how to be patient? I don't think so, by the sounds of it. So forgive me on doubting how decent your education is when it doesn't even teach you the basics of respect."

"Sorry, sir," drolled Minerva sarcastically, rolling her eyes, "No interrupting. I understand."

"I accept your apology, since it seemed so sincere," replied the teacher, then he continued, "Well, from then on, the atmosphere grew from volcanic nitrogen, and things naturally evolved, until we got to the world we have today. All chemicals seem plausible, and all elements seem to have derived from previous elements. Though we don't know everything, we know that it all seems to be connected and, well, natural. Except for one thing."

"What's that?" Holly cocked her head.

"Magic," replied the Fire-Man, "The element that isn't an element, yet isn't quite a form of energy, or isn't really a form of, well, anything. It's a mystery. And, quite simply, one has to assume that it did not come from this Earth- nor from anywhere in this galaxy, as far as scientists can see."

"But if that is true," asked Minerva, "Where exactly did magic come from?"

"And so begins the legend…" said Artemis.

"This is where the story gets a little odd, as legends generally do," said the man, "It is believed that, well, that there was a being at the beginning of the Earth."

"Like a god?" said Holly quizzically.

"No. Not a god. At this point, God, if there is a god, has already managed to create the universe. This was an actual life form, a person, whatever you would like to call it- however, clearly not immortal, and clearly not a god. A being as simple as you or me."

"But how could a being have been alive before the beginning of Earth, when life itself was created? It's impossible. And if you are asking me to believe that extra-terrestrials are real, I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to disappoint you." Holly shrugged in denial.

"One, I never told you that the being was an alien. In fact, I believe that the thing was entirely of this world, or would soon become entirely of this world, anyways. Two, this is simply a legend. You think I believe the story of King Arthur, in its entirety? And three," he risked a quick glance back at Holly while still driving. His hood hid most of his face but Holly could still see his infuriating grin.

"You, of all people, Holly Short, should know that anything is possible."

He took a turn onto the first paved road that they had seen in what seemed like an eternity. Minerva sighed, glad to be nearing true civilization.

The cloaked man continued. "However, the being was not the only thing alive at the creation of the world. There was another there, as well- well, not really a being. It was a ball of energy, but not; a piece of matter, yet not. It was a mystery."

"The first of magic," claimed Artemis.

"The first-ever piece of magic?" blinked Holly, "You mean, the magic was not already a part of Earth at the beginning?"

"Not according to this story," said the man, "But, moving on, this 'magic' was not truly what we think of magic today: it was really a soul. Well, two souls, actually. These two souls were rumored to be opposites. One was yin and one yang. One an angel, and the other a demon."

Everyone in the car besides the speaker winced at the word 'demon.'

"_Some_ demons aren't as bad as you think," pointed out Holly deliberately, "Ignorant mudman…"

"Did I miss something?" said the cloaked man, glancing into the back seat, "Really? I'm still trying to explain things here. My God…" he sighed, and, when he was sure everyone had recovered, continued.

"You get the point, anyhow. One was good, and the other bad, to put it in the simplest terms possible. Actually, now that I think about it, the mystery should not be that someone of Earth's descent happened to be floating out in the middle of space. The mystery should be where these two souls had come from, and why they chose that particular place to be at that instant in time. Any Earth being could go out in space; even humans did that in the 1960's. We know it's possible. No, the strangest thing would be that two souls, two ghosts of beings we cannot even begin to surmise, were out floating in the middle of the abyss itself. And more than that, the two beings seemed to be at war- I mean, they were yin and yang, after all. An angel and a d-…" he stopped himself, "…-devil, they were bound to be at odds when at that kind of proximity. And what a grand battle it was. Until our mysterious Earth-being appeared and decided to end it."

"But wait…" said Minerva, and the cloaked man sighed audibly, clearly impatient, "I can understand that, at some point in time, a being from Earth may be out in space. But at the beginning of time? When no beings have evolved past the stage of single cells, if anything? Highly improbable. _Very_ highly improbable."

"I believe it's called time travel," said the cloaked man, as simply as he would have said, 'I believe it's called driving a car.' Minerva opened her mouth to shoot down this idea worthy of an H.G. Wells book, but then decided against it, remembering the very adventure she had first had with Artemis. Perhaps it wasn't so mysterious, after all. Well, still mysterious, but not so astronomically unlikely.

"Speaking of which, very random comment," said the man, "I was talking about war between good and evil, if I recall. I shall continue. The souls were battling it out, so to speak, and here appears this being from Earth for no reason in particular. He looks around, sees an ocean of black, very dull and boring, until… Viola! He sets eyes on our dueling pieces of magic. Perfect entertainment, don't you think? But more than that… A perfect treasure."

Holly shifted uncomfortably. She could tell where this was going.

"Now, I say these two souls were at war. But, really, they did not look much like two beings at war. What I imagined they looked like, being the forefathers of magic itself, was… well… like magic. A glowing, sparkling ball of magic. Very pretty. Very alluring. And perfect for a curious organism to be tempted to reach out and touch, which is precisely what happened.

"And when it touched the magic, when it made contact, the result was both wonderful and disastrous at the same time. For the very instant the being touched the souls, the souls separated from their eternal battle- pure good and evil, now, not mixed together- and the being was transported back to Earth, where it belonged. However, now it returned with a gift for our planet: it returned with magic."

He paused, and glanced around the car, startled that he hadn't been interrupted in a while. He found everyone attentive for once, listening. He smirked, pleased that they were finally behaving. The one way to get these menaces to do what you want, he reasoned, was to get them interested. He decided to test his luck, and continued.

"The souls, as I said, had split. The two were more than enough for one organism to hold. One soul, the angel, stayed with the being. The other, the devil-soul, split itself into thousands of pieces, spreading itself across the globe and attaching itself to beings of certain genetics: mainly to the Fey, or what is today known as fairy kind. Yet, the soul was nothing to be reckoned with. It molded to the souls and wills of the beings it inhabited, obeying their orders whether they be good or otherwise. But the devil was still a devil, evil at heart. It sought the destruction of the People, and of all others living on the Earth, in general. You know, typical evil, destructive soul. And it would have done so, had its partner not sought to counter every attack the devil planned.

"The angel-soul, now attached to the first being we spoke of, did not split itself into thousands, as its brother had. Instead, it merely split itself into seven, seven pieces of a single soul. And it attached itself to one specific species: to humankind."

"Why humankind?" asked Holly, cocking her head, "No offense, but humans are not the wisest souls of all the species on Earth."

"Because," said the cloaked man, "I don't believe the legend actually says straight out, but it is my theory that the soul attached itself to the kind it knew best- the first kind it came in contact with. The kind of being that stole it in the first place."

"So the being that was out in space, that found the two souls…" said Minerva, "… Was a human…"

"Now _that_, I could believe," snorted Holly, "Only a mudman could be stupid enough to try to take something clearly dangerous, simply because he was curious."

"Not the wisest thing to say in a car full of humans," snapped Minerva.

"I've insulted in worse situations," shrugged Holly, causing Artemis's mouth to twitch in a hint of a grin.

The fire-man hopped in, continuing in his tale. "The soul split itself into seven, attaching itself to humans in the hope that they could put a stop to the evil soul. Yet, having divided into such few pieces, it was far pickier with the beings it selected. Each chosen human was far smarter than the average, the brightest of their kind."

"Very flattering," sighed Artemis, "I would be complemented, if I knew you weren't including yourself into that description."

"And, more than that, the seven pieces of the souls took on characters of their own. Each piece brought a different form of magic to its respective owner. Earth, air, light, dark, water, and fire." At the last element, he let loose a pointed grin.

"That's six," said Minerva, "Not seven. Six forms."

"I can count," said the man, _tsk_-ing the teen, "I was merely building suspense. Patience, _petite fille_. The seventh form is, supposedly, the strongest. It is said to be composed of the heart of the soul, if there is such a thing. It is made up of every element. The owner, who controls it, is said to lead the other six magicians on their journey to stop the evil soul- also known as the _Dark Spirit_- in its flight to destroy all life forms. The owner of the soul's heart is said to be the Chosen."

"Don't tell me…" murmured Holly, eyebrow twitching in dreaded anticipation.

Artemis raised his hand in response, confirming Holly's fears, "That would be me."

"_Why_ does it always have to be _you_, mudboy?" groaned Holly, "Honestly, couldn't it be another human for once?"

"But that would make it boring," said the Fowl with a grin.

"Indeed," said the teacher, "And there's no doubt that it is him, either. The Chosen is the one who bestows the soul pieces to the rest of the humans, and he does so from the very first time he touches them. Or makes Contact, I think the proper term is."

"So that means… The first time Artemis touches one of the humans meant to be the seven humans with magic, he basically gives them their powers?" Holly mused.

"That's the gist," replied the cloaked man.

"But that would mean that, when Artemis was sick in Aiden's fortress, that would be the first time we ever touched? I've touched him before then, I'm sure of it!" protested Minerva.

The teacher shook his head. "Not skin to skin. Cell to cell. I imagine you've worn those gloves from quite some time, permitting no contact with your hands, at least. Am I correct?"

Minerva let out a quiet "Oh!" of realization, then fell silent, allowing the fire-man to continue.

"Yet, this is not the end of the journey for the other six humans. For Artemis, the Chosen, to even be permitted to try and defeat the Dark Spirit, all six of his companions must undergo tests of ultimate difficulties and evolve into Seraphim. Once they do so, they will have complete control over their magic. Now, however, the powers tend to run a little amok."

Artemis winced, remembering his near-drowning experience he had only an hour or so ago.

"What kind of dangerous tests are they?" said Minerva. Though her voice was solid and steady, Artemis could tell simply from knowing the girl that she was nervous.

"Are there different kinds of dangerous tests? I wasn't aware," shrugged the driver, "I have been told, however, that each test will make the tester combat their worst of the seven vices; you know, gluttony, lust, avarice, pride, sloth, wrath, and envy. Seven- one for each human. I don't know about that, though. What I do know is that souls of past Seraphim, ones who have not completed the quest to stop the Dark Spirit and have fallen in the process, tend to give these tests. Souls returning from the grave and all that."

"Do you mean ghosts?" cried Minerva, horrified.

"Forget the ghosts, Minerva! What do you mean, fallen? People have died on this quest?!" snapped Holly. Her eyes darted from the back of the teacher's head, to Artemis's, clearly concerned.

"Again, they are called 'dangerous tests' for a reason. Not everyone survives. In fact, you only can fail in your quest to stop the Dark Spirit if one of the members of the Seven Seraphim dies. And once that happens, the Dark Spirit's thirst for destroying lives tends to be quenched for a bit, but only until the next generation of Seraphim is born. It is up to that generation of Seraphim to try again. I suppose that is the one perk of the failure in your quest- the Spirit stops its deadly journey for a bit. Also, if it reassures you, there must be at least one survivor in each generation of Seraphim after a journey fails."

"Why one survivor?" asked Artemis, even though he knew the answer. He knew that was the question the cloaked man was waiting for someone to ask, and the horrified looks on Holly and Minerva's faces told him that they weren't going to be asking any question any time soon.

"Why, so that there is someone left to explain what to do to the next generation of Seraphim, of course," replied the cloaked man smoothly.

"… Wait…" said Holly, slowly coming out of her shock, "So that means… You have done this quest already? And your group of Seraphim failed?"

"Yes," said the cloaked man, and Artemis detected a hint of solemnness in his voice, something he hadn't heard from his teacher in a while. "Yes, we failed. Only two of the old Seraphim are living today, including me. The rest of my five other comrades are gone, their deaths directly caused by the wrath of the Dark Spirit."

"Wow," said Holly, not sure what to say. Up until now, it had all seemed like a joke, the way the cloaked man had been treating it- two genius' with magic duking it out over some childhood feud. A very bad joke, but a joke nonetheless. But now she saw how serious this game actually was. And what was worse: not only was this a deadly challenge, but it was one in which she, an LEP officer, had no prior experience whatsoever. Mudmen with magic? This might as well have been a dance competition for trolls. In fact, Holly would have preferred the dance competition with trolls. It seemed much less dangerous and far less complicated.

And to think, thought Holly even further, these five people must have been more than comrades to the cloaked man. They must have been friends to him. And they were all gone.

"However," chirped the driver, destroying the silence that had befallen everyone in the car, "We need not worry about casualties just yet. We are off to a brilliant start, I must say. So far, five of the seven soul pieces have been given, and I myself have had the honor of passing my test and becoming a Seraph already."

"Five?" blinked Minerva, "So far, we have the Chosen, myself (with the wild gift), you with the fire, and Aiden with water. That leaves darkness, wind, and light- three, not two."

"Light has already been bestowed," said Artemis simply, "_Someone_ erased my mind of those memories."

If Minerva could have seen the driver's face, she would have bet her life that it was burning with guilt at this comment.

"Ahh, I would like to show you all something," said the fire-man, eager to change the topic, before someone noticed his embarrassment (A/N: too late :P), or worse: someone asked who the human with light-magic was. That would require even more explaining, something that he was not willing to do at this point in time.

He pulled over to the side of the road and hopped out, surveying the countryside. The Irish road was deserted, save for a few domestic cows grazing in the surrounding fields, and it seemed as though they were in the middle of nowhere.

The man took a few steps, surveyed his surroundings, and found them acceptable, apparently. Then he turned back to the car, only to find the three inhabitants staring back at him from within its depths.

"Well?" he said impatiently, "If you want a good view, you're going to have to get out of the vehicle."

There was a chorus of slothful sighs and a slight scramble as the three occupants exited the car. The cloaked man waited until they all stood in front of him, clearly impatient.

"Right," he said, rolling his shoulders, as if he were a gymnast getting ready to do a physical stunt, "I want to show you what it means to truly become a Seraph."

"I thought it was just a title," drolled Minerva, clearly tired of the antics.

"Not just a title," said the cloaked man, "To pass the test, the human with magic must conquer their main vice, and thus must overcome the great fear and conflict within themselves. Once this conflict is resolved, the human should be in full control of their magic, and will be able to defeat the resurrected soul of the past Seraphim. Accompanying that, they will become a Seraph themselves."

"And how do you know the conflict within yourself is resolved?" asked Holly.

"Well, one way to tell is whether you have defeated your opponent, the resurrected human, or not. The other way is a little more visual…"

The fire-man took a deep breath, then exhaled slowly. And as he did, two giant masses grew out of his back. They were bright, flaming things, burning as though they were on fire- angry red, vibrant orange, dancing yellow, and, at the ends where they connected to the teacher's body, a pulsating blue. They grew till they were at least five feet each in span, and moved swiftly and fluidly through the air at the will of the cloaked man, as though they were extra limbs that he controlled easily.

"Are those…?" whispered Holly

"Those are wings!" finished Minerva, astonished, "_Mon_ _dieu_! Seraphim- of course… The name isn't just a title… It suggests…"

"That we actually have turned into angels, in a sense," said the teacher, "Quite astonishing, isn't it? Of course, my wings are suited to my magic- simply a projection of my powers into a physical form- and are thus seemingly made of fire. They do work, though. I can fly. It just seems like overkill to actually go flapping about places, so I prefer hoofing it in regular transportation. It is nifty, though…"

And with that, the wings disappeared as quickly as they had come, and he clapped his hands.

"Well! Now that we have gotten that over with, we should consider continuing our journey to Fowl Manor. We are ahead of the Butlers, and should keep it that way. Back into the car!"

He jumped into the driver's seat, and beckoned the others to join him in the off-terrain vehicle. They obliged, this time far more awed than before they had entered.

"The wings are new," said Artemis, hand stroking his chin thoughtfully once he had shut his car door, "Why hadn't you showed me them before?"

"I didn't have them before," replied the Fire Master, "I acquired them shortly after I erased your mind. And that brings me to my next point."

He let Artemis turn the car back on with his hand-print, then took off down the dirt road once more, getting closer and closer to Fowl Manor.

"I'm assuming you mean to tell me why you erased my mind," said Artemis hopefully.

"Yes, indeed," replied the cloaked man, "And, well, I did so for many reasons. The main reason, however, was that I believed you were proceeding with the duties of the Chosen far too quickly. You were given your powers, and thus gave powers to me, only a few days after your birth. You then proceeded to give the powers of water and light at the ages of two and five. By the age of seven, I could sense already that I was going to have to undergo my test to become a Seraph very soon- one could say I could sense the danger in the air. And, well, I couldn't have that. At the rate you were progressing, you would be facing the Dark Spirit by the age of ten. I did all that I could to slow the process, but to no avail.

"In the end, once you turned nine, I was forced to remove all your memories of me. I did the same to Juliet, Butler, the Major, and Mrs. Angeline Fowl. All the elder persons had their memories removed voluntarily, recognizing the danger. The younger members, seemingly you and Juliet," he said to Artemis, "had their memories removed forcibly."

"And did it work?" asked Holly, "Did it slow down Artemis's progress?"

"Yes it did," admitted the cloaked man, "Surprisingly well, actually. It was able to hold off Artemis from wielding any magic until very recently. That didn't mean he was kept out of trouble, as shown from the supposedly mythical fairy sitting in the backseat. But it did give us a better chance, I think, at thwarting the Dark Spirit's progress. I think that the older and wiser Artemis can become, the greater a chance we will have.

"It also held off me becoming a Seraph for a longer time than I thought- about three years after I first began sensing the impending battle. But it was unavoidable. Luckily, I survived, as you can see."

Suddenly, something occurred to Holly with a jolt.

"You said that the past Seraphim are resurrected to test the current students," she mused, "Does that mean…" She hesitated, wondering if she was venturing into forbidden ground, but then regained her courage and continued, "Does that mean that, to gain control of your fire powers, you had to fight one of your old comrades?"

There was a silence in the car. Yet, after a brief pause, the teacher replied, "Yes, actually. I had to face a very good friend of mine. In fact, one could say he was my best friend. Yet that is the curse of this journey. So far, the humans have not won a single round against the Dark Spirit- if we had, his magic would be controlled and the threat of extinction wouldn't be here: there would be no Seraphim at all anymore, as there would be no need for them. But there are Seraphim. And the Dark Spirit is still running amok, amidst all fairy magic. So we must do our best to stop him in this generation of humans."

Everyone was silent in the car, and everyone was aware of the uncomfortable awkwardness that came with the horror of all that they had learned since leaving the fortress. Even Artemis, who thought he had a decent fill of the story already, had been told things that shocked him to his bone. Yet he needn't have worried about the silence for much longer- he could see the towers of Fowl Manor ahead, hidden behind the rolling hills of grass and farmland. Before the car ride finished, however, one more question occurred to Artemis. Of course, this question had happened upon him thousands of times before this moment, but he hadn't had the guts to actually ask it until now. He turned to the driver, eyes glinting with a stern curiosity.

"There is one matter that still plagues my mind," Artemis began.

The cloaked man nodded, permitting him to continue.

"Why must you hide your identity behind that clichéd hood of yours?"

The Fire-Man clicked his tongue in annoyance. Of course that was the question he would ask.

"…I suppose one could say it is tradition," replied the teacher, "The man who explained to me the legend of the Seraphim, in my generation, remained identity-less to the other six of us until the very end of the journey. My guess is that the tradition started to keep the teacher safe. As you could see from the actions of Aiden, many of the Seraphim do not actually want their magic, and often seek out others to blame for their misfortune. If you were to know my identity, then you could easily find my loved ones and use them as hostages for your hatred, in an attempt to get revenge on me, your teacher, whom you blame. I am not saying, of course, that you would," pointed out the cloaked man to an appalled Artemis, "I'm just saying that it is a tradition.

"I also suppose…" he continued, hesitating slightly, "… I suppose it has to do with guilt, as well. Not one generation of Seraphim, since the beginning of time, I assume, has succeeded. Not one failure has occurred without death, or multiple deaths. And not all of those deaths were unavoidable. Many were caused by bad decisions. Bad decisions lead by improper instruction."

"But you can't blame yourself," cried Holly, "It's not like you asked to be in this position, either!"

"True," replied the cloaked man, "But just because I didn't ask for the position doesn't mean I didn't deserve to be put in it."

But before the full meaning of this reply could sink into the minds of the three other inhabitants of the car, they rounded another hill, putting Fowl Manor in plain sight.

"And here we are!" announced the cloaked man, "Just in time, too- I feel like my jaw has come unhinged with all of this talking. I don't think I've ever talked this much before!"

"I beg to differ," grumbled Artemis.

They pulled through the gates about three minutes before the second car, full of Butlers and one single McKinley, managed to arrive, and entered the manor.

And the teacher's last ominous comment was forgotten.

* * *

The Butler's ride back was a little different, to say the least. The two elder bodyguards sat in front- the uncle drove- and Juliet sat in back, with an unconscious Aiden buckled in awkwardly to his seat. The entire journey was done in the traditional, Butler-bonding style: complete silence. Juliet was fine with this. She was just happy to be in her uncle's presence once more. There was, however, one exchange of words said during the hour-or-so-long trip.

"That cloaked man needs to be taught a lesson. Should it be you or I who gives the talk to him?" rumbled Butler.

"I think it would be best for us to get as much information from him as possible before we make any hasty decisions," replied the Major.

"Agreed," said Butler.

The car fell back into silence once more, and remained that way until they arrived at the manor.

* * *

**I have to do actual homework (:'C) so I will make this short... Pleeeeaaaaazeeee revieeeewwwww :X I love every single comment, criticism, random statement, whatever- as long as it lets me know you're still reading this and you still care! It has been a while... I want to hear your pretty voices!... Wait... I mean I want to read your pretty messages?... Idk... whatevs, lol you get the point! Until next time!**


End file.
